Apple Mac HQ

Introduction
Launched in 2007, Amazon MP3 marked the first large assault on iTunes. While it’s not the first digital music download service back by a large corporation (who knew Wal-Mart had a music download service?), this product is unique. Not only was this new effort backed by a large corporation, but it is a corporation with a long respected internet history.

Selection
The selection of music on Amazon MP3 is enormous. While the selection is not quite as large as iTunes, it has most of the same songs/albums as iTunes. The music diversity on Amazon MP3 is also quite good. If you like Top 40 type music, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll find what you’re looking for. If your taste varies from popular music, Amazon MP3 can also wet your music appetite. I had a very hard time not finding the music I was looking for. In fact, of the ten or so artists I looked for, only the most obscure one wasn’t listed. Bottom line, unless you are a complete underground/unsigned indie junkie you’ll find something you like. Even if you are, it can’t hurt to see if Amazon MP3 carries it. Amazon is constantly adding labels to their MP3 offerings.

Price
Most single tracks cost between $.89 and $.99 cents each. Based on my browsing, albums cost between $5.99 and $9.99 each. Most single discs run between $8.99 - $9.99 however. Double discs cost more than a single disc. I’ve seen some double discs for $12.99 and $16.99. Price will likely vary by artist, label, etc.

Music Format
Amazon MP3 offers DRM free 256 kbps mp3 files. Good quality sound and DRM free; about as good as you can get from a download music service.

Experience
As with all the iTunes alternatives I’m reviewing for this article series, Amazon MP3 is a web application. The website features a similar design to the Amazon Store. Searching for a song or album is as easy as using Google and typing into a search box. Once you have found what you want, click buy.

With the help of the Amazon MP3 Downloader, the experience using Amazon MP3 is quite seamless. If you are purchasing individual songs, the use of the Amazon MP3 Downloader is optional. If you are purchasing entire albums, the use of the Amazon MP3 Downloader is mandatory. I do however recommend using it for all your purchases since it does make life easier.

After buying a song or album on Amazon MP3, you’ll download a .amz file. When you have the Amazon MP3 Downloader installed, opening the file will launch the Downloader and you’ll see the songs being downloaded to your computer. Once the download is finished, the Downloader will automatically add the song to iTunes. The album art should also be included!

Overall
Amazon MP3 is by far the best competitor to iTunes. The experience of finding and downloading music is very easy. The quality and selection of music is great, as is the price. If you’re looking to spend your music dollars somewhere other than iTunes, Amazon MP3 will likely be your best choice.

This is part 1 of 3 of the Guide to iTunes Alternatives series.

Popularity: 20% [?]

I’m going to do my first multi-part post here at Apple Mac HQ. Leading off this first, is a review of the various alternatives to iTunes. I’ll be focusing on what I consider the “major players”. Those services are Amie Street, eMusic, and Amazon MP3. While there are other music services such as Napster and Rhapsody, their business model is subscription based which is outside the scope of this music service comparison.

Over the next week or so I’ll do an in-depth review of each service and then make some final recommendations. Stay tuned for my first review early next week!

Popularity: 25% [?]

When you have the most popular digital music player on the planet, the largest digital music store, and billions of cash on hand, you tend to attract outsiders who want a piece of the action. Apple, meet Stacie Somers.

On December 31st, 2007, Stacie Somers filed a class action lawsuit against Apple for violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act among other things. You can view the entire 24 page filing here. So what nuggets of information can we find within?

Page 2 # 6: “Online Video make it superior to DVDs purchased from traditional retail outlets.”

If you think video hobbled with DRM, a lower picture quality than DVD, and no special features makes it “superior”, the I’ve got some great beach property in Kansas to sell you Stacie.

Page 4 # 13: “Apple has repeatedly acted to foreclose even the possibility ofcompetition by using its market power to force consumers to choose its products based not on their merits, but on the fact that technological restrictions and incompatibilities prevent them from buying its competitors’ products.”

So you’re saying that it’s not because the iPod looks amazing, easily works with the music management software (iTunes), or is so very easy to use? What you’re saying is that when you go to pay for your Zune the credit card machine breaks down because Apple remotely disabled the connection to the credit card processor? Makes perfect sense to me.

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Popularity: 35% [?]