Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Amazon MP3 Store to Go Global in 2008

Posted by Soulskill on from the and-in-this-corner dept.

Amazon announced in a press release today their plans to sell DRM-free music worldwide through the Amazon MP3 store beginning later this year. This news is being viewed by some as the latest volley in Amazon's digital music sales war with Apple's iTunes. Since Amazon has completed its plans to offer DRM-free music from all four major record labels (most recently, Sony and Warner), the global availability of the MP3s can only be excellent news for customers.

6 of 196 comments (clear)

  1. It's about time... by TofuMatt · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is what I've been waiting for, seriously. I will be able to buy my music online, and actually own it now. I don't think anything more than "awesome" need be said.

    --
    -Matthew Riley "TofuMatt" MacPherson
    I have a website
    1. Re:It's about time... by h4rm0ny · · Score: 5, Insightful


      Not since iTunes broke Linux compatibility. Count me in as another customer sitting here with a pile of cash waiting them to actually let me buy from them. And more competition in the market is a good thing, anyway.

      --

      Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
    2. Re:It's about time... by dangitman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No, I'm a genius. IQ is over 160.

      Citing an IQ figure as proof of genius only demonstrates idiocy of the highest order.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
  2. Re:Will any of them ever match AllOfMp3's prices? by DrEldarion · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's easy to charge low prices when you don't actually pay the people who make the music.

  3. Re:Will any of them ever match AllOfMp3's prices? by Niten · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Will any of them ever match AllOfMp3's prices?

    No, because unlike AllOfMp3 these stores are operating according to U.S. (or similar) law; and more importantly to me, purchases from Amazon MP3, iTunes Plus, et al. result in the artists actually getting paid for their work. (Yes, I know, "the evil record labels don't pay their artists that much anyway, blah blah blah"... but if an artist is in a bad contract, at least it's an arrangement that he or she voluntarily entered into; AllOfMp3, on the other hand, is profiting off these artists' work without any compensation or agreement. If you give a crap about your favorite musicians, you don't buy their stuff from AllOfMp3.)

    Quality rate, obscure bands not signed by one of the big corporations, etc.

    Amazon MP3's quality is good, better than iTunes but not quite on par with iTunes Plus. Tracks are encoded with LAME 3.97 at a high VBR bitrate (~230 kbps or so?). The collection is still a tiny bit spotty, but growing fast. It certainly has a better selection than iTunes Plus does, by a long shot. All things considered, it's an excellent service.

    My biggest pet peeve with Amazon MP3 is that while you can purchase individual songs through the standard Amazon web interface, purchasing whole albums (and thereby receiving the album discount, where applicable) requires the Amazon MP3 Downloader. On the plus side, this program seems well-written, can pause downloads or resume interrupted ones, automatically imports your songs into iTunes or other MP3 players' libraries, and doesn't behave suspiciously. But why should it be necessary? The downloader is currently available for OS X and Windows, and a Linux version is "forthcoming".

  4. Re:Can't believe it! by k2enemy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Steve Jobs claimed a while back that he didn't like DRM, and had to do it because of the labels. Now we have Amazon selling true MP3s for all four major labels. So where's Steve?

    Based on what I've read, I think the record companies are trying to avoid a situation where iTunes has a monopsony in the (wholesale) market for digital music. If iTunes is the only reseller of digital music then Apple has a lot of bargaining power in price negotiations and will be able to pay the labels a low price.

    By not allowing Apple to sell tracks DRM free while at the same time allowing stores like Amazon to do so, they allow the other stores to gain market share and catch up a little with Apple. Then no one buyer has the entire market and the record labels can retain some price setting power.