Amazon Store is Beginning of the End of iTunes Dominance

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 1:57am — Quincy Pince-Nez

Yeah we said it. It needed to be said. iTunes, you've finally met your match. All of the iTunes competitors to this point have been extremely flawed in one way or another but one company that understands consumers as well, if not better, than Apple is doing it right. As Apple fans, we hope this rattles more than just a little bit the cage that is the iTunes music store. In fact, until things change at Apple, we are onto Amazon.

Amazon Music Store specs:

say it with us.."DRM FREE, DRM FREE, DRM FREE" (Yes we are aware of EMI $1.29 AACs...which brings us to...)
~256k VARIABLE bitrate MP3s. The only format that works in every player out there. It will also work in players we buy if 5 years from now if Nokia or Samsung make the best open devices. 256K is solid. Not quite CD quality but close enough that it doesn't matter for most of us without $10,000 systems.
Songs starting at .89 cents. Yes, consumers want lower prices and In-a-Godda-Davida is worth more than an Eminem 30 second skit with Paul Rosenberg. Apple, meet your customers - we want variable pricing. Get it done.
What's mine is mine. We go thru a lot of computers here. After 5 suddenly all of our music can't be copied anymore and we are in hell activating and deactivating machines. That is BS. I've been stung. Hello Amazon.

Amazon is basically selling what AllofMP3.com was selling to consumers, but legally and more (realistically) expensively. That price will probably erode over the next few years as competition and flexible pricing mature. All good for the consumers. We can only hope that videos and movies follow.

Apple had better get its act together quickly or it will a be relegated to the same 3% rabid fanboy market share in the music sales industry that it garnered during the PC wars. Hopefully they've learned their lesson by now. But all signs point to "no".

EDIT: TUAW has a great review of the 2 systems

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Apple Inc News

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Comments

agreed, but as to bullet

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 2:39am — tomo (not verified)

agreed, but as to bullet point two, itunes plus AACs will also still play 5 years from now, AAC being a standard format.

not on a device that doesn't

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 3:00am — admin

not on a device that doesn't play AAC - which are more than a few. And that is just the unlocked AACs.

i just converted all of my

Thu, 09/27/2007 - 8:21am — christapher (not verified)

i just converted all of my itunes from mp3 to aac and freed up 6 gigs of space on my laptop. i want aac

I would have opted for

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 3:30am — minkya (not verified)

I would have opted for unprotected AAC at 256K VBR, a much more advanced and efficient codec. Anyway thumbs up for Amazon, let's hope Apple wakes up.

trudat

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 8:02am — macmanager (not verified)

trudat

The music from Amazon is

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 4:00am — macmanager (not verified)

The music from Amazon is watermarked (see the latest Wired). Audio watermarking has been tried before on DVD-A and failed as it audibly degraded the music. No doubt watermarking algorithms have improved in the past 5 years, but I suspect the labels who will be using watermarking on Amazon music downloads will largely be relying on selling to a less critical audience than those involved in the DVD-A tests.

I can't seem to find the

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 2:09pm — chiggins (not verified)

I can't seem to find the watermark article you're talking about. I have read that the metadata contains some serial number. Could you supply a link to the article in question?

It's not the end of iTunes

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 4:11am — Joe (not verified)

It's not the end of iTunes dominance. It's the beginning of the end of protected ACC. The Amazon store is no where near as elegant. Oh and by the way, how well does it integrate with OS?

Come on, be serious.

Stick to reporting rumors or useful how-to's since this philosophical direction-the-entire-online-music-industry-is-going crap is ridiculous.

The site is really getting

Thu, 09/27/2007 - 8:31am — Ron (not verified)

The site is really getting creepy, with its weird combination of Apple fanboy-ism, Apple bashing, and Apple doom schizophrenia.

What, are you guys channelling John Dvorak or something?

I think DRM is the only way

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 4:16am — Meldon (not verified)

I think DRM is the only way to go. It will allow more people to get access to their music, and it will also mean less trouble when another company comes out with a new program. I normally rip CDs and have yet to buy anything from iTunes (because of DRM). I really like iTunes, and would like to buy off of it, it is seamless and i can get all my music needs in one place. Maybe they wake up now?!

No problem. Buy the album

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 9:12pm — macmanager (not verified)

No problem. Buy the album off iTunes, burn it to CD, share as you wish.

Apple should wake up to

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 5:29am — bobbo (not verified)

Apple should wake up to what? This is a move by the RECORD INDUSTRY to break Apple's dominance. Apple's the one calling for DRM-free music.

This is a bait and switch by the record companies. If they can get this making money, through Amazon, then they can start their variable pricing, which means MUSIC PRICES WILL GO UP! Not down. Sheez!

It's like when a big company moves in and sells things for less than locals can, like a big cable company did a few years ago. The neighborhood got together and stuck with the local company because they knew it was just an attempt to break the local's back and then be able to raise prices without competition.

Right on. But, don't expect

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 11:14am — fuzfire (not verified)

Right on. But, don't expect todays consumers to recognize the obvious...labels just trying to wrest power back to themselves and using amazon in the process. As evidenced by many of the remarks on this subject, people seem to be clueless and easily fooled by the music cartel. What is needed is for music consumers to form an alliance with apple so affordable, quality music is available. Just think, I know its hard for some, but what would the music landscape be like if Apple were not in the picture? Think Microsoft here for the thinking impaired individual. Yea, there would be no discussion here or anywhere else. It would be the labels way ( and thereby microsofts way) or the highway. Of course the only other avenue is to steal it and I'm not for that. Not only does the labels get shafted, but the artist as well. Anyway, maybe there is hope that the buying public will wake up and not bite the hand that is feeding them...Apple.

Do you really believe Apple,

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 11:19am — admin

Do you really believe Apple, if given the opportunity, wouldn't price gouge the way any other company would?

Its strange to us to think that people don't see Apple just like any other company - out to make money any way they can.

If they are so open, why can't you play WMA or Ogg on your iPod?

If given the opportunity, Apple will bite the consumer just as much as Microsoft or a record company.

WMA is not an open format

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 1:56pm — macmanager (not verified)

WMA is not an open format either. OGG would be nice, but sadly the file size's are WAY too big. You little 1 gig shuffle would be filled up with one side of Manilow's Greatest.

I'm sure the Amazon store is

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 5:36am — macmanager (not verified)

I'm sure the Amazon store is going to be successful - but it's not the end of iTunes being the dominant player. I would say more than half of the people I know who buy from iTunes wouldn't even know what DRM stands for, let alone what bitrate is. A better service or product does not immediately equal success.

The convenience of iTunes, the store being located inside your software (which you have to use to sync your ipod!), and the universal awareness of the brand makes it pretty rock solid.

^ That's not to say that

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 5:38am — macmanager (not verified)

^ That's not to say that they should get complacent though!

You folks should stick to

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 5:40am — bravedeer (not verified)

You folks should stick to "rumors" as your commentary is pretty bad. You failed to mention that the selection is rather limited making the Amazon Store (as of now) more of an eMusic competitor than an iTunes competitor.

The end of iTunes dominance?

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 5:45am — Oliver Nielsen (not verified)

The end of iTunes dominance? Let us have it, sooner than later. Who's to blame for the current monopolistic situation? Apple? RIAA? Vivendi? Whomever it is, Apple is a major player, and not innnocent. They wanna dominate and make money. Simple as that.

I like using Apple products, but Apple sure does need all the competetition it can get, to make me able to continue to enjoy using their products. Apple have been sleeping on their laurels lately, Mac-wise speaking.

Leopard is named after one of the fastest animals. Yet the upcoming OS is quite a slow cat, features are so and so, most of it visual fluff, and the development cycle frustratingly slow.

It seems to me all Apple is about these days is selling iPods and iPhones... And satisfy Steve's urge to dominate with HIS system. That's ok, since I understand his vision. I just don't like seeing Apple become like Microsoft. Apple is a hermetically closed company. Nobody knows the next move, lawyers-letters all over the place, etc...

The best thing will be educated consumers going elsewhere. Buy some song at Amazon. Won't hurt anyone. Well, maybe Apple's wallet. Which is great.

Steve Jobs is not the second coming of Christ. He's a mastermind of business and technology. He's great, but not a god. So we Apple fans whould stop treating him like that.

Here here. Best comment so

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 5:48am — admin

Here here. Best comment so far this month

What about people in

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 5:47am — Jodi (not verified)

What about people in countries outside the US? In Australia, we have some digital download services but usually they're only for PC users where music companies can keep a stranglehold on content (like Telstra's Bigpond Music). Can't use the Amazon service here if you wanted to (and I don't). I think the music companies need to get over themselves. Look at what podshow.com are doing with independent artists...it's awesome! And they don't screw over consumers!

The 9to5 folks are starting

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 5:49am — thomasfxlt (not verified)

The 9to5 folks are starting to take themselves a bit too seriously.....

"Amazon Store is Beginning of the End of iTunes Dominance"

Maybe if such a statement was posed as a rhetorical question it would ring true, but your journalistic immaturity is showing with nonsense like that. If anything can be learned from reading Apple blogs and rumor site articles, it's that there is a wide spectrum of analysis on all things Apple. Just because you believe that a certain bit rate or file format is the deal killer for Apple, it doesn't make it right. There are many layers of market dynamics beyond the technical that make Apple solutions winners.

Urgh! As others have

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 6:08am — macmanager (not verified)

Urgh!
As others have mentioned, stick to rumors, not opinion.
9 to5 Mac is now beng removed from my feed reader.

The real juicy stuff from this site makes its way to Mac Rumors within minutes anyway.

"In fact, until things

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 6:13am — reader (not verified)

"In fact, until things change at Apple, we are onto Amazon."

So will you be changing your name to 9to5Amazon?

Seriously guys take our advice and stick to rumors. My likelihood of clicking on a story from 9to5mac had been raising and now I have a totally different expectation as to the content. I don't really care about your opinions (especially if I don't agree), I want to know "Apple Inc News."

Haha - nice to see admin

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 6:20am — macmanager (not verified)

Haha - nice to see admin giving props to the one comment that agrees with them - and really it's not even that good a comment.

Mildly inflamatory ("Apple is the new Microsoft!")
Mildly threatening ("if Apple don't do what I want, when I want, how I want - I'm gonna spit the dummy!")
and totally untrue. Apple resting on their laurels? Did you miss the iPhone? And Leopard looks fantastic. If you think it's just "fluff" maybe you should do some more research...

Oh and regarding the comment about Apple wanting to make money - heaven forbid! A business motivated by money!? What will they think of next...

Apple "critics" are the new fanboys!

[quote=macmanager] Apple

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 6:32am — macmanager (not verified)

[quote=macmanager]

Apple "critics" are the new fanboys![/quote]

I like to call them anti-fanboy fanboys.

oh and for the record guys -

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 6:21am — macmanager (not verified)

oh and for the record guys - it's "hear hear".

1) AAC is a standard audio

Wed, 09/26/2007 - 6:39am — os (not verified)

1) AAC is a standard audio format. In fact, it should be considered the evolutionary next step beyond MP3. Moreover, it is a more "open" format than MP3.

2) "Protected" AAC is nothing special. Apple could have adopted Windows Media or figure a way to DRM MP3's. Apple simply chose the best of available "open" formats to use. Then, they did what the labels required at the time in the form of the most liberally policed DRM in existence. Now, Apple has forced the issue of removing DRM.

3) The "activiation BS" complaint is BS too. What is so damn difficult with logging into iTMS and resetting your authorizations? I forgot to deauth several machines once, and it took me all of 5 minutes to reset and authorize my new ones. Stop hyperbolizing.

4) How does Amazon qualify as knowing consumer as well or better than Apple? Because they are the biggest and most visible retailer on the web? Walmart and Target are two of the biggest retailers in existence. Neither is known for their brilliant customer focus/service. Size and notoriety does not equal skill or ability.