Amazon has taken its new music service to public beta.
Introducing Amazon MP3, a la carte DRM-free MP3 digital music downloads.
Most DRM-free MP3 tracks are priced ¢89, and most albums are priced from $5.99 to $9.99. Tracks are encoded in 256kbps MP3. Amazon recommends installing Amazon MP3 Downloader, that will automatically add any purchased song to iTunes or Windows Media Player.
Unlike Amazon Unbox, Amazon MP3 service is compatible with Mac and Windows (haven’t tried it on Linux).
At first, it seems that Amazon MP3 is a worthy competitor to Apple iTunes Store. Looking ahead and beyond, this is a victory over the dreaded DRM. It is interesting how Universal Music Group purposely excludes Apple iTunes Store from its DRM-free offerings. Eventually, it won’t matter anymore, because DRM-free MP3s will work in any music players. Be it an iPod, Creative Zen, SanDisk Sansa, or even Zune.
I can play the MP3 I purchased from Amazon MP3 on my iPhone.
Support DRM-free music service!