Has Amazon got
the world on a string?
Having signed the Big Four record labels, Amazon announced its MP3 music store will go international later this year.
Because the songs have no digital rights management (DRM) protection and are playable on any music unit, Amazon believes music buyers will prefer its store to iTunes and the Microsoft Zune store. Both use DRM technology to limit compatibility.
The price of music on the Amazon store is yet another traffic-baiting coup. While iTunes sells tracks for 99 cents and albums for $9.99, Amazon sells one-third of its songs for 89 cents. Albums range from $5.99 to $9.99.
Information Week says Amazon's inventory includes 3.3 million songs from 270,000 artists. It is unclear whether music labels have given Amazon access to whole catalogs or only selected music. Weeks ago, Sony BMG gave Amazon access to its complete catalog.
eMusic, the world's second-largest music store, also offers DRM-free tracks, but has yet to sign all four major record labels.
