Pretty cool so long as in the long run, it does not translate into a
smaller percentage getting to the artist.
Sure was a lot of negotiating in the run up. 20,000 independent labels
were signed. How do they do that? Invite them all to a hall? Mind
boggling logistics. Even a team of 200 lawyers would each have a
hundred contracts to juggle. Anyone know Martha Stewart? She is my
kinda of woman. Smart, attractive and comes with a staff.
Damn I need a staff.
<http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1055053&highlight=>
Amazon.com Launches Public Beta of Amazon MP3, a Digital Music Store
Offering Customers Earth's Biggest Selection of a la Carte DRM-Free
MP3 Music Downloads
Amazon MP3 Offers Over 2 Million Songs From More Than 180,000 Artists
and Over 20,000 Labels, Including EMI Music and Universal Music Group
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2007--Amazon.com, Inc.
(NASDAQ:AMZN) today launched a public beta of "Amazon MP3," a new
digital music download store with Earth's biggest selection of a la
carte DRM-free MP3 music downloads. Amazon MP3 has over 2 million
songs from more than 180,000 artists represented by over 20,000 major
and independent labels. Amazon MP3 complements Amazon.com's existing
selection of over 1 million CDs to now offer customers more selection
of physical and digital music than any other retailer.
"Amazon MP3 is an all-MP3, DRM-free catalog of a la carte music from
major labels and independent labels, playable on any device, in
high-quality audio, at low prices," said Bill Carr, Amazon.com Vice
President for Digital Music. "This new digital music service has
already been through an extensive private beta, and today we're
excited to offer it to our customers as a fully functional public
beta. We look forward to receiving feedback from our customers and
using their input to refine the service."
Every song and album on Amazon MP3 is available exclusively in the MP3
format without digital rights management (DRM) software. This means
that Amazon MP3 customers are free to enjoy their music downloads
using any hardware device, including PCs, Macs(TM), iPods(TM),
Zunes(TM), Zens(TM), iPhones(TM), RAZRs(TM), and BlackBerrys(TM);
organize their music using any music management application such as
iTunes(TM) or Windows Media Player(TM); and burn songs to CDs.
Most songs are priced from 89 cents to 99 cents, with more than 1
million of the 2 million songs priced at 89 cents. The top 100
best-selling songs are 89 cents, unless marked otherwise. Most albums
are priced from $5.99 to $9.99. The top 100 best-selling albums are
$8.99 or less, unless marked otherwise.
Every song on Amazon MP3 is encoded at 256 kilobits per second, which
gives customers high audio quality at a manageable file size.
Buying and downloading MP3s from Amazon MP3 is easy. Customers can
purchase downloads using Amazon 1-Click(TM) shopping, and with the
Amazon MP3 Downloader, seamlessly add their MP3s to their iTunes or
Windows Media Player libraries.
Amazon MP3 has over 2 million songs from more than 180,000 artists
spanning every genre of music, including 50 Cent, Alison Krauss, Amy
Winehouse, Ani DiFranco, Arcade Fire, Beastie Boys, Coldplay,
Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ella Fitzgerald, Feist, John Coltrane,
KT Tunstall, Keith Urban, Koko Taylor, Lily Allen, Madeleine Peyroux,
Maroon 5, Marvin Gaye, Miles Davis, Morrissey, Nelly, Nickel Creek,
Nirvana, Norah Jones, Paul McCartney, Philip Glass, Pink Floyd,
Pixies, Radiohead, Ray Charles, Rod Stewart, Spoon, Stevie Wonder, The
Chemical Brothers, The Decemberists, and The Rolling Stones.
"Well done Amazon for making so much music available to so many
people," said KT Tunstall. "It's good to know, in the words of The
King, you're taking care of business!"
Leading independent labels offering their catalog of music for the
first time as DRM-free MP3s include Alligator Records, HighTone
Records, Madacy Entertainment, Sanctuary Records, Rounder Records,
Righteous Babe Records, Sugar Hill Records, and Trojan Records.
