Amazon MP3 Store: Better Value, But Not the Best
Amazon.com just opened what looks to be the most worthy iTunes competitor yet. Purchased tracks play on nearly every media player ever made, since they’re DRM-free MP3s. And at 89—99¢ (with variable album pricing), they’re occasionally more economical than iTunes’.
So let’s do a price comparison of some music old and new:
| Song Name | iTunes | Amazon MP3 | Amazon New CD | Amazon Used CD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steven C. Chapman / Greatest Hits | $12.99 | $8.99 | $13.99 | $2.45 |
| Alison Krauss / New Favorite | $9.99 | $8.99 | $13.99 | $5.38 |
| Chris Rice / Smell the Color 9 | $9.90 | $9.90 | $13.98 | $1.99 |
| KT Tunstall / Eye to the Telescope | $9.99 | $8.99 | $9.99 | $6.15 |
I should point out that I’m motivated by three factors here: price, convenience, and audio quality. iTunes and Amazon MP3 are convenient, but a used CD still wins out in price and audio quality. Amazon’s 256KB/s encoding beats iTunes’ 128KB/s, and when iTunes does offer 256KB/s DRM-free downloads, they’re always more expensive than Amazon’s.
And I much prefer having physical media waiting in my closet in case I run over or otherwise destroy my iPod. That said, for any quick impulse purchases I do allow myself, I think I’ll go to Amazon before buying from iTunes.
1 Comment