Amazon's MP3s not affecting iTunes

Amazon.com's MP3 site

(Credit: Amazon)

Amazon.com's MP3 service is growing but not at the expense of Apple's iTunes, according to a report issued Tuesday by market researcher NPD Group.

Only about 10 percent of the people who shopped at AmazonMP3 in February were previous Apple shoppers, NPD said.

This is a "healthy indication that the digital music customer pool can expand into new consumer groups who have not yet joined the iTunes community," Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD said in a statement.

Apple's iTunes remains the No.1 digital music store. AmazonMP3, which launched in September, slipped past Wal-Mart to take over the No. 2 spot in February when comparing the individual music tracks downloaded by consumers in the U.S., according to NPD.

The big question now is whether Amazon can continue to grow without snatching away customers from Apple.

Amazon may be enticing its existing customers to the music store, Crupnick noted. He said that a Superbowl promotion that Amazon held in February may have drawn regular shoppers to check out the new music service. He also speculated that many music fans are visiting out of curiosity.

"We'll have to wait to see what Amazon can do with those people," Crupnick said. "Does the traffic snowball or does it wane?"

Amazon has at least one major advantage over Apple: Apple's DRM-free tracks are available only from EMI Music, while Amazon offers unprotected MP3s from all four of the major record labels. Also, Amazon sells digital music at a higher bit rate and its songs are often cheaper.

But Amazon has a long way to go, says NPD. MP3 sales at iTunes are more than 10 times larger than at Amazon, the research firm said.

[tashman]

Nothing to do with iTunes

I use amazon mp3 because I use linux and amazon is the best way to purchase mp3's. The real news is that amazon is giving otherwise honest people a way to stay honest. I only wish the RIAA would let amazon just pay the artists directly.

[The_Decider]

The real news?

How is that different than the iTunes store?

[sting7k]

iTunes users should take a look

I have had an ipod since the 3rd gen ipod was released and have not purchased very much music on itunes because of the DRM issues. I will say amazonMP3 is a very nice service for many reasons.<br /><br />1. Often has albums that are complete when itunes for some reason is missing sometimes 2-3 tracks.<br />2. All tracks are DRM free, have embedded artwork, and are good quality.<br />3. Songs are automatically added to your iTunes library, the amazonMP3 folder even puts itself in your itunes music folder.<br />4. Did I mention they are DRM free?<br /><br />I have purchased quite a bit on amazonMP3 after looking at the content on itunes and then just checking amazon and often finding it is $1-2 cheaper. I recommend any itunes user to give it a try.

[Kev Orng]

useless to me

frankly, I would consider using both. I'll comparison shop, although the iPod Touch does make it really easy to use the iTunes store.<br /><br />But it's a moot point to me until Amazon decides to roll the service out to their international sites. I can't understand why they don't, there are no technical barriers, but maybe some legal ones. Until then, it's nothing more than zuneware... I might consider it, if they let me.<br /><br />Anyways, I'm not hopeful, Amazon.ca doesn't have anywhere near the kind of product selection of Amazon.com. It's almost as if they think a bookseller should focus on selling books! pshaw!

[datacowboy]

Amazon is the way to go

I no longer buy any music from iTunes. I use their software to manage my library, but I always buy songs from Amazon.<br /><br />Of course no DRM is a big deal. I can play the music on ANYTHING, iPods, XBOX, PS3, TiVo. And there is none of that computer authorization crap. Amazon stuff is cheaper, higher bit rate, it has all the album artwork, and their downloading app throws the stuff right into my iTunes library. It's easy.<br /><br />So the study is saying that Amazon is not displacing iTunes customers, but I am one.

[Macbrewer]

iTunes is better

iTunes has all the podcasts, album reviews, playlists, Movies, TV <br />shows, etc... I can track all my purchases on the site, use <br />iTunes to look for music (Amazon has that too, but it's pretty <br />weak in comparison.)<br /><br />And the price is the same. I don't mind typing a password once <br />in awhile. There is no way I have to do that with iTunes more <br />than once a month, if that much. But if you run Windows, you <br />probably restart all the time, etc... so I'm sure, like a lot of <br />things, it's a huge hassle when you are running Windows.

[dillholio]

Never underestimate the power to shop around

I currently have an eMusic.com subscription which provides me with 90 downloads of DRM-free MP3's a month for $20. This is an exceptional value, but amost all the acts are well off the radar of mainstream music (with a few exceptions -- eMusic touts that it will have the Rolling Stones 1964-1970 catalog available.) I still buy CD's for the ultra rare stuff I can't get anywhere else, &#38; I don't forsee these being available for download as long as $20 or better can be charged for a limited run CD. "OOP" seems to be the qualifier for CD gold on eBay. I quit downloading from iTunes &#38; have switched to Amazon for stuff I can't get in a store or don't have the patience to wait for (Nine Inch Nails "Ghosts I-IV" is a perfect example.) As much as I enjoy my Mac &#38; iPod, I just don't think that anybody should have a monopoly on digital music, especially with the antiquated DRM issues involved. I shop around &#38; use mutiple channels for my consumer goods, so why should digital music be any different? Itunes likes driving people to their service by offering iTunes exclusives with their content (much like Best Buy does with various CD/DVD releases) so I don't think that there will really ever be a category killer in this regard. I think most people who shop around will have an Amazon, iTunes , etc. account &#38; get the best value for their money. If companies can just be creative enough to keep our business &#38; keep us coming back, then everybody will win.

[dbargen]

There's a good reason

Did anyone stop to think that perhaps the main reason people <br />are still initially signing up with the iTunes/iPod model is the <br />reputation? Yeah, Amazon has been out there for a while, but <br />it's never had any buzz, and the offerrings still aren't <br />comparable. <br /><br />I'll admit it, I am part of that universe, but I signed on back in <br />2000, and got an iPod in 2001 (when most people still didn't <br />understand what an MP3 player really was). I've tried out a few of <br />Amazon's listings, but I still prefer the iTMS. When I release an <br />album via TuneCore, Amazon's going to have to sell more songs <br />in particular genres before I spend the extra fees to post it there <br />too.<br /><br />How often is it that you see a link for a song on a social <br />networking or news page to the Amazon Music Store? I've yet to <br />see one...

[AppleSuxLeo]

Title is totally misleading...

The pool is expanding meand those who would have gone to iTunes aren`t. They are going to Amazon just like me. And they admited Amazon is taking 10 percent of iTunes current users.<br />iTunes sells 10 times as much ? Yes , and Amazon JUST GOT OUT OF Beta !!! iTunes has many years of lead time and Amazon is already kicking a** and taking numbers. Amazon offers better quality , lower cost , and support from ALL FOUR majors DRM free. No wonder iTunes days are numbered. Millions of others like me refused to buy into the locked-down Apple walled garden. Thank God for AmazonMP3 !!!

[Macbrewer]

Truth comes out

Amazon is selling only 1/10th the songs that iTunes does. <br />When the Amazon digital sales stories broke a month or two <br />ago, they all made it sound like Amazon was right on Apple's <br />heels. I guess so if they are #2, but now we find they are only <br />selling 1/10th of what Apple sells.<br /><br />Why is it that 1/10th use Macs and are ignored, but 1/10 buy <br />from Amazon and this is supposed to be some big deal? As if <br />some service hasn't been doing this far better for what, 7 years <br />already. <br /><br />Amazon is just for a sort of GENERIC music buying experience. <br />Sort of like Windows is a GENERIC computing experience.

[The_Decider]

Speaking of misleading

How is a song purchased from the iTunes store a "locked down Apple walled garden"?

[nothankscnet]

AYFKM?

Are You Frickin Kidding me?<br /><br />"MP3 sales at iTunes are more than 10 times larger than at Amazon"<br /><br />So, you felt obligated to compare size on a 6 month old venture to size on one that's 6'ish years old now (with it's own embedded monopoly based on hardware sales?)<br /><br />yet another *fine example of journalism* from Cnet.....

[AppleSuxLeo]

AYFKM?

Very well said. Amazon is taking over at record pace. It`s a no-brainer with the bit-rate at 256-320kbps , NO DRM , and many titles are only 89 cents. Not to mention ALL FOUR major labels are onboard. <br />If iTunes has a bazillion sales based on their monopolistic system(with a 6 yr headstart) , and Amazon acheived 10 percent of a bazillion in 6 months is just amazing ! Word on the street is that iTunes is a rip-off.

[Macbrewer]

Amazon is lame, and that works for Apple

Amazon offers you no software to deal with your files, not even <br />an audio player. You have to manage everything yourself, while <br />iTunes does a beautiful job of all this. iTunes is the best <br />software of it's type ever, and it's free, so you can use that with <br />Amazon if you want, no problem, but Amazon files don't <br />download directly into iTunes, so that's a pain to me. <br /><br /> iTunes is the original online music store, and Apple was the one <br />to call for DRM free tracks from the start, and had them before <br />Amazon. Apple is the innovator here, Amazon is more like a <br />digital WalMart.<br /><br />This all plays into Apple's hands entirely so I really doubt they <br />are concerned about Amazon. I personally think Apple is <br />probably happy to see that both #1 and #2 are digital sales, <br />with CD sales being pushed to third place. DRM free is what <br />Apple wanted for the iPod all along, but the labels would not <br />allow it. Other players, such as some of the Sony/Microsoft <br />players, would ONLY play Sony's proprietary format or <br />Microsoft's proprietary format, and were completely closed to <br />documented, open formats such as MP3 or AAC or AIFF. Apple <br />was open to all the formats except the proprietary, closed <br />formats of Microsoft and Sony from the very start.<br /><br />iPods works GREAT with pretty much any music files, except the <br />Microsoft formats (plays for sure???) which don't work anywhere <br />now that Microsoft abandoned it (for sure) along with all their <br />hardware 'partners'.<br /><br />The best part? A whole lot of the iPod users are buying Macs <br />now.

[The_Decider]

re

MP3 and AAC are not open formats.

[theman2233]

Wow, talk about a fanboy

I am going to focus on your itunes comment first. itunes has be one of the single worst programs ever written for the PC... it is slow, glitchy and does not play nice with any other software or hardware components besides the ipod. i want to have control over my content, and not have a program telling me what to do with the songs i paid for!

[gck105]

Amazon Software does add to iTunes

You can have the Amazon software add your song downloads directly to your iTunes libray after downloading, if you prefer it can also do it for Windows Media Player.

[sher962]

Music CDs still account for three fourths of sales. CDs will become MORE valuable as sites move to downloads.<br /><a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.pricepicture.com" target="_newWindow">http://www.pricepicture.com</a> tracks music CDs on the Amazon Marketplace and has a free Music Bargains Report that is updated daily.

[sharif890]

www.os-alley.com stocks up on itunes gift card of $200 at only $130. i bought from the website and the code was delivered to me within 24hrs to my email address . but the bad part is you need an ebay &#38; paypal account to buy from that website, because that is just a storefront, ebay is working on the back.

[Miphorce]

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[iceman721]

I am a defector from Itunes to Amazon. Amazon's music is at a higher bit rate 256kbps vs. 128kbps. Amazon downloads are in MP3 vs. AAC so even though I can convert them to MP3 with Amazon I don't have to. I have began having all my new music inserted into Windows Media Player. I'm getting rid of my Ipod and purchasing a Zune. My Ipod has a smaller screen and is 30gb. I plan on getting rid of it to purchase either an 80gb or 120gb Zune. <br /><br />No more DRM music for me. No more low bit rate crappy sounding Itunes downloads. Amazon should make an agreement to put Netflix, Hulu or Joost content on Zune or other portable devices. The only thing I see lacking vs. Itunes is the video content. I still have the option of pulling out my laptop if I want to watch a video or I can rip a standard DVD and place it on my Zune when I pick it up. <br /><br />Itunes is popular but it is NOT better. More people will see that in time and move on just as I did.