Amazon.com to Launch DRM-Free MP3 Music Download Store with Songs and Albums from EMI Music and More Than 12,000 Other Labels
9:28 AM PDT, May 16, 2007, updated at 10:25 AM PDT, May 16, 2007
May 16, 2007--Amazon.com today announced it will launch a digital music store later this year offering millions of songs in the DRM-free MP3 format from more than 12,000 record labels. EMI Music's digital catalog is the latest addition to the store. Every song and album in the Amazon.com digital music store will be available exclusively in the MP3 format without digital rights management (DRM) software. Amazon's DRM-free MP3s will free customers to play their music on virtually any of their personal devices -- including PCs, Macs, iPods, Zunes, Zens -- and to burn songs to CDs for personal use. "Our MP3-only strategy means all the music that customers buy on Amazon is always DRM-free and plays on any device," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO. "We're excited to have EMI joining us in this effort and look forward to offering our customers MP3s from amazing artists like Coldplay, Norah Jones and Joss Stone." "Amazon.com is known around the world for the unique experience it offers music customers through features such as customer reviews and personalized recommendations," said Eric Nicoli, EMI CEO. "They have been an important retail partner of ours, and we are delighted they will be offering consumers EMI's new premium DRM-free downloads in their new digital music store. We think having a trusted destination like Amazon.com offer a high-quality digital music product that will play across a number of devices gives consumers more options and will be a significant boost for the overall digital music market." See the full press release We're excited, what do you think?
Initial post:
May 16, 2007 9:55 AM PDT
Matthew Ribkoff says:
Couldn't be happier to hear, as long as the quality of the files is very high (As in high quality VBR, or 320).
Posted on
May 16, 2007 11:21 AM PDT
Zhimbo says:
Exactly, make 'em high quality, and I'm there.
In case people don't realize, the VAST majority of music sold today is digital and DRM-free: Compact discs! I'm happy to see that downloadable music is finally conforming to the current, workable, consumer friendly standard.
Posted on
May 16, 2007 12:32 PM PDT
Alex R. Cohen says:
I've stuck with CDs because I refuse to buy DRM'd music, which I think undermines genuine property rights (ownership of computers and other devices) in the name of false property rights (copyright). I may continue to buy CDs for other reasons (with Amazon Prime, which is useful for the books, groceries and other stuff I buy here anyway, shipping will cost nothing either way), including backup, but it will be good to have a digital option.
The questions that remain include how good the mp3s will be and how their price will compare to the price of CDs. I hope to see the other labels sign up. Here's a suggestion, by the way, which might help you sell more mp3s and CDs: Allow customers who buy an mp3 of a song that's also available on a CD to credit the price of the mp3 toward the CD if they purchase the CD within, say, 30 days of buying the mp3. Or, perhaps better: After a customer buys an mp3, offer to sell him a second one from the same album, price to be creditable toward the CD. This might help get people who've only heard one song to end up buying the whole CD instead of sticking with just one mp3.
Posted on
May 16, 2007 12:51 PM PDT
E.S. says:
Glad to hear there's a music store I can finally use - so far I've just been basically buying CD's and staying out of the legal-music-download space (iTunes, etc) because I hate DRM. I guess Amazon will be the first music download store I use.
Posted on
May 16, 2007 12:56 PM PDT
Last edited by the author on May 16, 2007 12:56 PM PDT
D. P. Salvatierra says:
If amazon allows open source integration to amarok for online store, sign me up. I will buy your music.
Amarok is a media player for linux and unix systems
Posted on
May 16, 2007 1:21 PM PDT
Jonathan Marzinke says:
Sounds good, although I don't think I'd buy in unless a lossless format was provided as well. Perhaps WAV, WMA or FLAC.
In reply to an earlier post on
May 16, 2007 2:42 PM PDT
John Smith says:
All the formats drive "losses" to zero as the bitrate increases. The difference between WMA or OGG/Vorbis and MP3 is negligible at high bitrates. Format only matters if are at or below 128kb.
Hopefully they won't skimp on the bitrate.
Posted on
May 16, 2007 3:11 PM PDT
C. Parker says:
If Amazon wants to successfully compete with iTunes, they should 1) Offer a higher bitrate of songs (320kbps mp3 instead of 256kbps AAC, or better yet, lossless FLAC) and 2) offer those songs for a lower price than iTunes (announced for $1.29 per track). If they can do this, they may have something here.
Posted on
May 16, 2007 8:46 PM PDT
Leonard Smit says:
Can't wait.
I don't pirate music. I don't buy DRMed music. I will by reasonably priced non-DRM lossless music.
Posted on
May 17, 2007 7:54 AM PDT
Barbara A. Duncan says:
[Deleted by the author on May 17, 2007 7:54 AM PDT]
Posted on
May 17, 2007 8:03 AM PDT
Dennis McGavock says:
It really makes sense to provide the customer a product that can be consumed. I recently attempted to get music to play on my RAZR phone only to find that I had to download it and burn it to CD in one program, rip it from CD in another program, Import it back to the original program without converting from MP3 and Sync it. In the process the songs lost all of their title and artist information.
A music service that actually works (like the original napster only with payment) will be very welcome!
Posted on
May 17, 2007 8:18 AM PDT
Scott Promish says:
This is great. But eMusic has been doing this for years. People, if you want high quality DRM-free music *now*, go there.
Posted on
May 17, 2007 8:38 AM PDT
Dennis Kibbe says:
Thank you Amazon for taking this first step toward freedom. The next step is to release in a Free/Open Source format that isn't encumbered with patents. Ogg would be perfect.
http://www.fsf.org/resources/formats/play
In reply to an earlier post on
May 17, 2007 9:58 AM PDT
G. Regula says:
too bad eMusic doesn't offer more popular artists... I also did not like their misleading "free" downloads. If you want unknown original music, however, eMusic may be worth checking out.
Posted on
May 17, 2007 11:44 AM PDT
George Cleveland says:
This is excellent news. While I REALLY like the ease and convenience of iTunes, having another spot to visit is great. I don't care so much about the DRM. When I buy from iTunes, it goes on the Pod and maybe to one CD and that's it. Thank you Amazon.
Posted on
May 17, 2007 4:53 PM PDT
Matthew Flaschen says:
More DRM-free music is always a good thing. However, I second the recommendation to offer Ogg Vorbis (possibly in addition to MP3). MP3 is no more open then AAC; it's just an older version of the same proprietary format. Ogg Vorbis (http://vorbis.com/) is a truly free format. If Amazon offered it, that would be a compelling reason to buy digital music here.
Posted on
May 17, 2007 6:34 PM PDT
DVD912 says:
Amazon has always been The original & the best in using an obsolete term: "User Friendly".
I buy many songs per month thru Itunes, but will gladly switch to where my true heart began, with Amazon-because they've alway proven very trustworthy to me. I see that EVERY song will be available from their available C.D.'s for sale...This would definitely be a plus that would permeate Itunes as obsolete indeed.
Posted on
May 18, 2007 8:50 AM PDT
Peter T. Brown says:
Please offer Ogg files instead if, or as well as, MP3. No software patents! This will mean GNU/Linux users can download for their players too.
http://digg.com/tech_news/PlayOgg_Now_tha
Posted on
May 18, 2007 10:47 AM PDT
N. Roysos says:
[Deleted by the author on May 18, 2007 10:51 AM PDT]
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The Amazon Music Editorial team:
Gabi Knight Lucas Hilbert Jeff Reguilon Alan Wiley Jason Kirk Hugo Munday Bri Nguyen Though she's fascinated by all kinds of music, GABI KNIGHT'S current and future preferences can be summed and projected with this handy questionnaire: Beatles or **Stones** / **Lennon** or McCartney / **Syd Barrett** or Roger Waters / **Public Enemy** or NWA (TOUGH one!) / Britney or **Christina** / **John Prine** or Kris Kristofferson (Prine, baby! All the way!) Growing up with classic Country and Folk vinyl records in a quaint Denver house apparently made an early impression that still shadows LUCAS HILBERT in his music career. Despite his earnest college and twentysomething years of delving into New Wave, Alternative, Indie, Britpop, and Electronic genres in both Indie music stores and with Amazon’s Music Advantage Program, he still can’t escape the haunting appeal of slide guitars, banjos, accordions, and violins, not to mention Southern drawls and simple songs with a hint of dark Americana. One time, JEFF REGUILON proposed marriage to his copy of Beulah's When Your Heartstrings Break, but was disappointed to discover man and property aren't legally allowed to wed. It's just as well, really, as he would've never been able to remain faithful to only one album. He spends most of his time now listening to an ungodly amount of music in the hope that he can shield you from the junk and expose you to the gems, but it's also entirely possible he's just looking for his one true musical love. Cranky but kind, JASON KIRK fled the merciless Midwest winters and a rather flaccid trajectory in academia to pursue the fickle joys of performing and writing about music on the West Coast in 2003. Thick-skinned and quick to laugh, he regrets little and sleeps less. Born in England, HUGO MUNDAY sang as a child soprano. Benjamin Britten operas, and Gilbert & Sullivan, mostly. Spent the next 20 years on stage for a living, through the late 90s. Ended up performing the unpublished repertoire of The Comedian Harmonists, throughout Germany, with an otherwise all-American line-up, called Hudson Shad. 10 years in NYC. 12 years in the Pacific Northwest. An avid traveler and world music buff, BRI NGUYEN has salsa-ed her way through Puerto Rico, electro-danced the night away in France, and took in her first flamenco performance in Poland of all places. Her musical tastes verge on the omnivorous, ranging from New Age to Reggaeton. Despite her childhood training in classical violin, Bri is the opposite of a musical purist. She likes it when genres are mixed, and mixed well. Other contributors include Ally Brown, Craig Downing, Robert Arambel, Ryan Trager, Shauna Furbush, and Shelby Earl. |
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