One of my biggest gripes with the major labels has been the lack of real choice in the matter of purchasing music digitally. iTunes 128k AAC files (with DRM) hold no appeal for me, due to both the sound quality and the DRM on the file, and up until recently, there was no alternative if I wanted major label music, except for illegal downloading. (I have and love my subscription to eMusic, but that's limited to independent labels.)
With the advent of the Amazon mp3 store, that is no longer true. I love it. It's not quite as seamless or sexy as iTunes, but the prices are better, sometimes significantly so, and the quality of the file, a 256k unprotected mp3, blows iTunes' offerings out of the water. I've been doing a lot of purchasing on the store, and I can't recommend it highly enough. I've found some great albums (Thelonius Monk with John Coltrane) for great prices ($5.99) and I'm trying really hard not to get addicted to the service.
Warner Music has just signed on with Amazon, leaving the SonyBMG label group as the last major to join. I'm sure they'll be on soon. Very quietly, the labels seem to have quietly put up the white flag in regard to DRM. Good for them...and good for the consumer. I absolutely recommend spending some time on the Amazon mp3 site; it's great to see, finally, quality offerings in the realm of major label digital music.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Loving The Amazon MP3 Store
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2 comments:
I just downloaded my first amazon mp3 album the other day (Max Richter's The Blue Notebooks) for two dollars cheaper than iTunes, plus DRM-free. I like to pay for music when I can, and you're right, this is currently the best option. With emusic I never felt I was getting my money's worth, because some months you're so busy downloading elsewhere you just forget it's there. Or I would just download lots of interesting music but nothing I really want to listen to day to day. Amazon it is. Piracy and tradition do their best to battle the free market, but this is the way it's gonna be.
Have you tried Other Music's online store yet? (I haven't)
Sounds great...unfortunately it's not available in Australia, so I guess I'm stuck with Itunes. Don't understand why an internet service is only available to the U.S.A. Hopefully it will be available here soon though cos you make it sound pretty damn good!
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