Amazon UK has just launched its MP3 Music Downloads service. At first glance it looks very good. There are songs and albums from every genre and with albums from just £3 and songs from only 59p, this looks like a big competitor to iTunes from Apple. Key features of the Amazon service include:
- Can be played on all MP3 players, including iPods
- Can be loaded (via PC or Mac) into most media-enabled mobile phones
- Downloads instantly to iTunes, Windows Media Player and most other Mac and PC music players
- Free from DRM (digital rights management), so you’re not restricted in how you use the music you buy
I have bought some songs from Amazon MP3 Downloads and the purchase was very easy. The low prices might be an opening sales ploy but if they continue, I think Apple might have to revise their own pricing policy. I mostly buy single tracks and Amazon undercuts Apple by between 10p and 20p. At the same time, the MP3 songs at Amazon are encoded with a higher bit rate which normally means higher sound quality, particularly if you play the tracks through hi-fi equipment like I do.
It’s all good news for the music-loving customer as far as I am concerned!