Amazon MP3 to Go Global

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

When Amazon MP3 launched last year, you can bet it was looked upon by Apple as just another minor threat to iTunes’ dominance. But with the signing of Sony BMG, Amazon is the only retailer selling DRM-free music from all four major music labels. And now it’s a major threat.

Sunday Amazon announced that Amazon MP3 is going global, spreading DRM-free music worldwide.

In a press release, Bill Carr, Amazon.com Vice President of Digital Music said:

“We have received thousands of e-mails from Amazon customers around the world asking us when we will make Amazon MP3 available outside of the U.S. They can’t wait to choose from the biggest selection of high-quality, low-priced DRM-free MP3 music downloads which play on virtually any music device they own today or will own in the future. We are excited to tell those customers today that Amazon MP3 is going international this year.”

No doubt they are being bombarded with emails, but this certainly isn’t going to slow them down. You can except “when, when, when?” emails to start filtering in to Amazon.com.

I’ve always said that the fact that Amazon MP3 used the standard MP3 format rather than AAC as Apple does with its DRM-free selections is a major advantage. To be honest, friends and others I’ve spoken to are all moving to Amazon MP3 for their purchases. Yes, it’s not quite as easy as buying straight through the iTunes application, and it’s still in beta, but then how many years has Gmail been in beta, right?

We Say: Unfortunately Amazon can’t be more specific than 2008, as that could be as long as 11 more months, and that gives Apple plenty of time to get its act together - although you can bet Jobs and company have already felt a measure of concern over Amazon MP3 already.