Amazon Music Store

[BarTopDancer]

And so it begins.

This is a mixed blessing for Apple. It has benefited from the closed system, forcing every iPod buyer to buy music through iTunes. But it still has an advantage in that most every iPod user installs iTunes, which has Apple’s music store built in. Now Apple does have to compete in the market, so if an album is cheaper on Amazon, people may well flip over and buy it there.

Apple is generally charging $1.29 for its MP3 files, in an attempt to differentiate them from its 99-cent restricted files. Amazon, however, will charge 89 cents and 99 cents for most songs, and it will offer albums at significant discounts. Indeed, to test this out, I purchased an MP3 download of a Philip Glass album for $6.93 from Amazon. It would have cost $11.99 to download from iTunes in Apple’s DRM format and $18.99 to buy as a CD from Amazon. Moreover, Amazon’s software put the music right in my iTunes folder, so there was almost no convenience sacrifice.

I see this as the first true competition to the iTunes Music Store. Sure, you could lease music from Napster, Rhaposdy or that new frog something-or-other but besides it being tied to the monthly $ervice, it was a PITA to get it on your iPod.

It will be interesting to watch things play out.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Ooh, I'm excited! If it really is that much cheaper to get a CD, I really am likely to buy more.

[BarTopDancer]

I will definitely try it out. I really like that it just adds the MP3s to my iTunes music folder. At this point I only buy physical CDs if I need a pre-sale code for a concert. Less stuff = good.

[blueerica]

Interesting to see how this plays out - but I have a question for some others.

I've never felt like I was forced to buy music from iTunes. It's true I rarely go elsewhere, but I don't know if I've ever needed to. I've bought from elsewhere in the past and never had problems. Was the "system" closed and I was just completely in the dark about it, or what?

[BDBopper]

This is real good for someone who has never been able to download I-Tunes and have it work. My computer doesn't like ITunes or Quicktime for some reason. Thanks for sharing!

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by blueerica

Interesting to see how this plays out - but I have a question for some others.

I've never felt like I was forced to buy music from iTunes. It's true I rarely go elsewhere, but I don't know if I've ever needed to. I've bought from elsewhere in the past and never had problems. Was the "system" closed and I was just completely in the dark about it, or what?

No, it wasn't but a lot of people, who aren't tech savvy think they can only buy music through the iTunes music store.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by blueerica

I've never felt like I was forced to buy music from iTunes. It's true I rarely go elsewhere, but I don't know if I've ever needed to. I've bought from elsewhere in the past and never had problems. Was the "system" closed and I was just completely in the dark about it, or what?

iPods can't play WMA-protected files. So services like Rhapsody, Napster, AOL are somewhat useless if you have an iPod (there are ways around it, but they kinda defeat the whole convenience aspect). Labels have thus far been reluctant to sign deals that would allow un-protected MP3s to be sold. eMusic has been an option for a while, but their selection is limited largely to independent labels (not necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely restricts their market). It will be interesting to see how Amazon fairs at making the necessary deals to offer a selection that satisfies their target customer base.

[BarTopDancer]

More commentary.

This is gonna get real interesting.

[Morrigoon]

Okay, so this is non-protected mp3's? Do I understand that correctly?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Correct.

Again, not a new concept, but a new concept for anyone with the clout to compete with Apple.