AmazonMP3 a DRM Free Music Store
I have long been a fan of Amazon.com. Not sure I remember when I made my first purchase from Amazon, but I recall doing a good portion of my Christmas shopping there in the late 90’s. Over the years I have bought many things there from books to electronics. When I heard that Amazon was launching a new online music store I was cautiously optimistic, but not expecting much. My low expectations were not because I didn’t have high expectations from Amazon, but rather it seems that many tried their hand at the digital music business, but few have succeeded.
Why have so many failed in the digital music business? In part I think the music industry is to blame for the failure of many of the failed efforts. High prices and restrictive digital rights management (DRM) have certainly not helped the digital music industry. Campaigns and lawsuits from the RIAA that treat consumers like criminals certainly don’t help either.
Apple’s online music store, iTunes, has been one of the few success stories in the digital music realm. The success of the iTunes music store is in large part due to the iPod. Apple created an easy to use ecosystem with the combination of iTunes and iPod. Apple also managed to work deals with the music industry that were favorable to the consumer. iTunes allowed consumers to buy individual tracks for .99 cents. As the iPod gained up to 80% of the market for digital music players, iTunes continued to prosper.
Today I decided to try Amazon.com’s new Mp3 download service to see what t was all about. It sounded good – DRM free music that would work with my iPod. So I downloaded three songs and here is what I found to be the advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages:
- Music is in the Mp3 format and will work on most digital music players
- DRM free music – play your music when you want where you want
- Easy to preview tracks
- Nice web interface for viewing and purchasing tracks
- Works well with iTunes
Disadvantages:
- Very limited selection (only 2 major labels)
- Search worked poorly in my test
- User experience, while good is not as good as iTunes
- A lot of filler content (karaoke and tribute bands)
Overall I like the Amazon Mp3 store, but I don’t see it becoming my primary source for online music. When I want to buy a single song I continue to look on iTunes first, it is quick, easy and convenient. I also belong to eMusic, which I use for music discovery and I trade CDs on Lala. I will certainly look at Amazon’s Mp3 store when I want to buy complete albums. If I can buy an album at a higher bit rate and DRM free I will certainly opt to do so – and Amazon seems to be a good choice. I would love to see both iTunes and AmazonMp3 get more DRM free music from all the music labels.
One thing that bothers me about Amazon’s new service is that is really in part an effort for Universal Music to undermine iTunes. While Universal has agreed to sell DRM free music on Amazon they are not offering their DRM free music on iTunes. Why? In part perhaps because Univeral wants more control over music distribution and are not happy with their agreement with iTunes. Again the music industry doesn’t get it…