Amazon.com Launches DRM-Free MP3 Store
By Sean P. Aune
Amazon.com has finally launched their long rumored, DRM-free, MP3 Store as a public beta.
With over 2 million songs from more than 180,000 artists represented by over 20,000 major and independent labels, Amazon.com is saying they have launched the world’s largest online digital music download store. The claim is certainly true from the DRM-Free aspect as that has been a point of contention between Steve Jobs of Apple and the music industry.
For those unfamiliar with DRM-Free, DRM stands for Digital Rights Management and is an encoding in files to dictate where and how it may be played. Just as you can only play most iTunes purchased songs only with Apple’s media player, or on their iPods, DRM-Free music can be played on any MP3 capable device.
The music is all encoded at 256 kliobits per second, as opposed to Apple’s standard of 192kbs, for a higher sound quality. Pricing is $.89 on over 1 million of the songs including the current top 100 best-selling tracks, and complete albums range from $5.99 to $8.99.
With songs as low as $.89, undercutting Apple by $.10, and DRM-Free, iTunes may have a serious challenger on their hands in a time when other digital stores, such as Virgin and Sony, have been failing.
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