That Was Quick

In a piece related to the one I posted yesterday, Amazon.com just launched AmazonMP3, which as you'd expect, is their MP3 download store. Amazon says it hopes to be competitive with the iTunes juggernaut. That remains to be seen, but I'll tell you about my encounter with the store.

A large part of the main page is dedicated to Amazon's Top 100 download charts, which at the moment contains everything ranging from Kanye West, Amy Winehouse and Fall Out Boy to The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and the Beach Boys. AmazonMP3's biggest claims are cheaper tracks and albums (some more popular songs are only $.89, albums average $8.99) and DRM-free music, a concept iTunes is still trying to get the hang of (iTunes Plus isn't all it's cracked up to be). After perusing the catalog a little bit, I decide to put my first 9 bucks on Eyes Open, the most recent release from Snow Patrol. After downloading their MP3 purchaser application and offering up my credit card info. (Amazon does not yet offer physical store cards a la iTunes), the tracks immediately started to download and were automatically added to my iTunes library. Sure enough all the songs were in a DRM-free MP3 format, making them compatible with every type of digital player. The songs claim to be at 256 kbps, which is comparable to iTunes, but the sound quality sounds a bit fuzzier compared to stuff bought from the iTunes store. Still, a full mp3 album for 9 bucks? By George, I think they've got something.

For added fun, double albums like The Wall and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness are also available for a paltry $8.99, as are a number of albums from iTunes holdout Radiohead (though they're only available as full albums, not individual songs). I'm not willing to totally abandon iTunes yet, but I don't think I'm dealing exclusively in them anymore.

AmazonMP3.com

==TJ==