DISQUS

last100: In just 30 days, Amazon MP3 may be the No. 3 online music store

  • mark · 2 years ago
    "Likewise, songs purchased on iTunes cannot be played on a Zune or iRiver MP3 player."

    Not true. Only "songs with DRM purchased on iTunes" have that condition. There are more DRM-free songs at the iTunes Store than at AmazonMP3.
  • tom · 2 years ago
    I just wish they'd open up a similar store for Canada...a day after it opened I was able to get one track, but a few days later it said they couldn't sell to me (IP based I presume) based on my geographic location. Bummer.
  • Steve O'Hear (editor) · 2 years ago
    @mark

    the post has been updated for clarity. Thanks.
  • Hank Williams · 2 years ago
    Actually amazon's succes does not prove the significance of DRM free music. The truth about DRM free music has been demonstrated with apple's DRM free stuff with EMI. As should be obvious, but isnt to DRM tech insiders, civilians dont care about DRM. They will not pay more for it they will not change their habits for it, and most dont even understand it.

    What this proves is that interoperability is key. MP3 has the benefit of playing on IPods. Its not DRM free that people care about. What they want is to be able to buy music for the device they have... duh! If people cared about DRM, iTunes would not be a success. Why dont the people that think that the world revolves around DRM explain that!
  • Hank Williams · 2 years ago
    Actually amazon's success does not prove the significance of DRM free music. The truth about DRM free music has been demonstrated with apple's DRM free stuff with EMI. As should be obvious, but isnt to tech insiders, civilians don't care about DRM. They will not pay more for it and they will not change their habits for it. Most people don't even understand it.

    What this proves is that interoperability is key. MP3 has the benefit of playing on IPods. Its not DRM free that people care about. What they want is to be able to buy music for the device they have... duh! If people cared about DRM, iTunes would not be a success. Why dont the people that think that the world revolves around DRM explain that!

    Oh and by the way I dont work in the record business, but I have worked in internet music. It just galls me that the tech "thought leaders" are generally so ignorant about the real behavioral dynamics of so many things relating to entertainment, and opine on it based entirely on the wisdom of the tech crowd and not real data.
  • Michael C · 2 years ago
    Wish Amazon success, if only to stop Apple becoming the Microsoft of music.
  • Daniel Langendorf · 2 years ago
    @Mark, thanks for the clarification. You're right. I should have caught that. At least you keep me honest.
  • mat · 2 years ago
    @Hank:
    The only way to have interoperability without paying lots of bucks is... mp3.
    That's not only because different brands purpose different DRM (aac and wma above all),
    but also because some brands reject his own drm scheme to support newer ones
    (check about Microsoft Zune and play4sure issue, for the happiness of all the customer
    who PAID for such music, already becomed trash...)