Amazon MP3 store is much cheaper than Apple iTunes

The Amazon MP3 store has arrived in the UK, and I’ve noticed that it is much cheaper than Apple iTunes for many items, particularly when buying complete albums. Here’s an example: Day & Age by Killers. £7.99 on iTunes:

and £3.00 on Amazon:

That’s 62% cheaper. Amazon also sells the CD for £8.98. Since you get more for your money with a CD (no lossy compression, physical backup and sleeve notes, transferable rights) that strikes me as about right.

The MP3 format is also more convenient than iTunes AAC, since it is supported by more devices.

I’m intrigued though. Why is Amazon so much cheaper? A last-ditch effort by the industry to create serious competition for Apple?

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2 thoughts on “Amazon MP3 store is much cheaper than Apple iTunes”

  1. Thank you for this; I’ve just bought my better half an MP3 Walkman for Christmas and this will be of great interest to her, I’m sure.

    I don’t know if you like classical music (it’s probably my favourite genre) but this site is also worth investigating if you do: http://www.passionato.com/

    Totally DRM free and available as MP3 or FLAC.

  2. Even so I dont think it will make much of a difference. Zune has unlimited for (i think) 15 bucks.. but nobody uses it like they do itunes.

    itunes has marketing behind them and ease of use, which is the deal maker/breaker for online sales.

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