Tech Shout!

In May this year, it was reported that Internet retailer Amazon would be launching a DRM-free online digital music store. Now, the company has gone ahead and launched this much-anticipated online store called Amazon MP3, which could most definitely prove to be one of the Apple iTunes’ biggest rivals.

The newly launched Amazon MP3 digital online store currently stocks around 2.3 million songs which are not embedded with any sort of copy-protection technology. Shoppers at Amazon MP3 can buy either single tracks or entire albums.

As Amazon MP3 is a DRM-free store, tracks can be copied on to multiple computers, burned on to CDs and played on most types of PCs and portable devices such as the iPod and Zune.

Amazon MP3 charges their customers around 89 cents to 99 cents for each track, while albums would cost between $5.99 to $9.99.

Interestingly, major music labels Universal Music Group and EMI Music have signed on to sell their tracks on Amazon MP3. But, many other independent record labels have also jumped on to the Amazon bandwagon.

Bill Carr, Amazon’s vice president for digital music, said it will be up to customers to use the music they buy legally.

To help stop music piracy, Carr said some record labels add a digital watermark to MP3 files that indicate what company sold the song, and Amazon adds its own name and the item number of the song, for customer service purposes. He added that no details about the buyer or the transaction are added to the downloaded music file.

Carr said in an interview, “By and large, most customers just want a great, legitimate way to buy the music they want. What the vast majority of labels believe is that they will sell more music by giving customers what they want … by enabling DRM-free MP3, than by continuing to confuse customers or force them to choose methods that are not legal, because the legitimate alternatives are not good.”