iTunes Maintains Digital Music Dominance Despite Amazon's Discounts

[ericinboston]

I still buy cds...been buying/collecting music since the late 70s.

1)I am not a fan of MP3 format other than with headphone use...on a nice home stereo, MP3 compression is just terrible. Lossless all the way.

2)I have purchased maybe 6 MP3 files on the internet...2 from iTunes and the rest from Amazon...the 2 from iTunes were rarities that are unavailable on cd (I hate being forced to buy mp3) and the rest I got from Amazon because Amazon gives out $1 promos every now and then so it's free for me.


3)Even though iTunes has the most buyers, I would argue that Amazon is growing and will likely continue to grow. Not everyone enjoys the Apple monopoly and hey, those Amazon promos will get people's attention that there IS an alternative to iTunes...I think a vast majority of iPod owners are unaware that Amazon sells downloadable music and/or feel they can ONLY get downloadable music from iTunes.

4)As others have stated, wish Amazon and iTunes would offer lossless files for a great price. I would prefer WAV over the Apple format even though WAV doesn't support tags...but iTunes will happily tag it and track it via the iTunes XML file.

 

[newagemac]

To save space, I create mp3 versions of all my songs after I download them on my iphone. If you buy songs via your computer on itunes, it's protected and you can’t make an mp3 without burning a disk or paying for some program. I’m not an audiophile AND CAN NOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE in “sound quality.”

The only music I buy on itunes are songs that Amazone doesn't have.

iTunes music doesn't have DRM and hasn't had any for years.

If Amazon ever upgrades from mp3 to higher quality aac files like you get with iTunes music downloads, I might start using them more often but mp3 is pretty outdated. Is there any reason Amazon is still using mp3 and not aac or lossless?

 

[JAT]

Here's my question: Do people buy that many albums digitally? iTunes has succeeded because of selling one song at a time at a price people like. Dropping the price on albums here and there is not a long-term success story in this market. If Amazon dropped all songs to $.49, I'm sure there would be a major change in that graph within a year. Except they probably can't due to contracts with the studios.

This means that if a downloaded song, movie or piece of software does not play on the buyers' computer or MP3 player, they have no legal right to a refund.

To me, that's yet another reason for not spending money on iTunes.

And yet, Apple does refund for issues like this. But, what iTMS download has not played on your player that claims to be compatible?

dude, what's with the hate?! he didn't attack the poster, he was just making an argument. why do people lose all their manners online?

They don't have manners in the first place. Why do you think they do?

To save space, I create mp3 versions of all my songs after I download them on my iphone. If you buy songs via your computer on itunes, it's protected and you can’t make an mp3 without burning a disk or paying for some program. I’m not an audiophile AND CAN NOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE in “sound quality.”

The only music I buy on itunes are songs that Amazone doesn't have.

What? I'm trying to figure out if any of your words are accurate or make sense? Amazon sells mp3, Apple sells "special" mp3, called aac. So...I take it you are changing these to very low quality mp3 to conserve space? Stick with those cheap earphones, and you'll continue to not hear the difference.

 

[Astro7x]

Couple other notes. When you download off Amazon, they have an app that automatically puts it into iTunes for you (so you can still keep the music all together). Also, they have several twitter accounts where they post their deals (@amazonmp3 is one I follow).

I've seen several people mention this. Who cares?

You have to download a piece of software to download full albums to give you the convenience of automatically adding it to your iTunes library? No thanks, I'd rather not download the software and inconvenience myself the whole few seconds it takes to drag and drop the files into iTunes.

What? I'm trying to figure out if any of your words are accurate or make sense? Amazon sells mp3, Apple sells "special" mp3, called aac. So...I take it you are changing these to very low quality mp3 to conserve space? Stick with those cheap earphones, and you'll continue to not hear the difference.

Hey, some people just don't care. I'd personally sacrifice some tiny sound quality I can never hear to have an MP3 file that plays on every device I own.

 

[3282868]

I like iTunes, as an Apple iDevice and Mac Pro owner, I have little choice in its use. However, that doesn't mean I don't want to see competition for Apple. Corporate monopolies almost always screw consumers over and sometimes inhibit technological advancements due to market dominance. As consumers, we need more options.

Side note: I've never used Amazon for digital music (perhaps makes me a hypocrite), but it doesn't mean it isn't needed.

 

[muu]

iTunes music doesn't have DRM and hasn't had any for years.

If Amazon ever upgrades from mp3 to higher quality aac files like you get with iTunes music downloads, I might start using them more often but mp3 is pretty outdated. Is there any reason Amazon is still using mp3 and not aac or lossless?

Probably just the format recognition? Pretty much everyone knows what a mp3 is, I dont think AAC is quite as known and they may be hoping there's enough of a misconception that people will buy MP3 thinking it's the more 'universal' format.

I don't think FLAC/ALAC sales via amazon/apple is coming any time soon, as the major pop hits (which are probably their biggest sales) will have zero benefit from going to lossless. If major recording studios still cared bout sound quality this might be a little different. The only thing lost is a possible, slight effect on the soundstage on the very best recordings, and Apple/Amazon know well enough that the .01% of the population that actually cares will buy the original CD or the 96khz version from more expensive online stores anyway.

And then I'd bet at least half of the idiots buying the 96Khz version are playing them w/o bitstreaming, thereby fooling themselves into thinking that they're listening to wonderful reproductions when they're actually doing a 96khz -> 48khz transformation. And they'll still tell you how much better it is because they spent 1000 bucks on their cables.

 

[Skoal]

Hilarious. MacRumors posters continue to complain about iTunes while the rest of the world flocks to it. As usual.

Simply because the "rest of the world" knows no better, or is to lazy to care to know better.

 

[LagunaSol]

I will start buying music from iTunes when Apple stops embedding my full name and e-mail address into the music files.

Why is this a problem? Do you intend to share your files around with complete strangers?

I agree with notjustjay - if you're not sharing your purchased music illegally, why should this give you any concern?

Probably just the format recognition? Pretty much everyone knows what a mp3 is, I dont think AAC is quite as known and they may be hoping there's enough of a misconception that people will buy MP3 thinking it's the more 'universal' format.

I think they blew it when they named this format. They should have called it MP5 or something. AAC is the natural successor to MP3, but no one knows that. They see the "A" and assume it's Apple's proprietary format. Even those who should know better often don't get this.

Apple is "closed" you see (AAC), while Microsoft (WMA) is "open."

 

[Discoverer]

Why is this a problem? Do you intend to share your files around with complete strangers?

Of course. If I do not want my information in the music files it is obviously because I am a thief.

No, dear Sir. I just do not want my information in the music files. It does not belong there. I am not a thief and I do not want to be treated like one.

If I intended to "share my files around with complete strangers", I would not have bought from iTunes in the first place.

 

[Boston007]

Amazon FTW. They generally always beat the prices of iTunes by a few bucks. Plus, it will put your downloads right into iTunes.

...not to mention how incredibly laggy and gross the iTunes store is. It takes FOREVER to load.. and i'm on 4G internet.

Yah been using Amazon for months now on music. So much better!!!

 

[NebulaClash]

Simply because the "rest of the world" knows no better, or is to lazy to care to know better.

Or is perfectly happy with their iTunes experience, as I am.

 

[bankshot]

I've been buying a lot more music downloads at Amazon than iTunes because of prices. I subscribe to the Amazon MP3 twitter feed to get their daily deal, and although I usually only use it maybe a dozen times a year (most of the stuff is popular junk), it's worth it for that.

And in particular, I've massively expanded my classical music collection thanks to Amazon's low prices. They have a whole series of "99 Most Essential ... Masterpieces" classical MP3 albums that are regularly priced from $6 to $8, and usually debut as the daily deal for $2 to $3. They've got 'em for most major composers now, plus several other collections (Romantic Era, Baroque, Violin, Piano, Allegros, etc). I have 26 of these collections - 2574 pieces, or about 1900 after weeding out exact duplicates and solo vocal pieces which I hate - and probably spent less than $70 total over the last few years on these. Not bad for almost 200 hours of music!

Sheesh, sorry to sound like an advertisement in that paragraph. At any rate, I've spent $60 on Amazon MP3s this year, and just $1 on iTunes music.

As for people complaining about format choices - I encourage you to do a true double-blind listening test. You might surprise yourself.

 

[Jaro65]

it's also nice not having to go to itunes and buying from a browser.

Why?

 

[emaja]

It's good to have the choice. If I buy music online, it is usually from Amazon. They have a great selection of sale albums from as low as $1.99. I have found a few artists that I would never have taken a look at before.

IMO, compressed music all sounds about the same at those bitrates. I have the storage, so file size is not an issue at all for me.

 

[Stella]

If Amazon offered music downloads in Canada I'd certainly look there.

I'd buy music from the best service, and the cheapest, whether that be iTunes or Amazon or otherwise. No need for blind loyalty, flexibility is better.

 

[Vulpinemac]

I still buy cds...been buying/collecting music since the late 70s.

1)I am not a fan of MP3 format other than with headphone use...on a nice home stereo, MP3 compression is just terrible. Lossless all the way.

Agreed

2)I have purchased maybe 6 MP3 files on the internet...2 from iTunes and the rest from Amazon...the 2 from iTunes were rarities that are unavailable on cd (I hate being forced to buy mp3) and the rest I got from Amazon because Amazon gives out $1 promos every now and then so it's free for me.

My music purchases are usually through iTunes for downloads and Amazon for disks. This is because Amazon tends to carry more International music on disk than any download source.

3)Even though iTunes has the most buyers, I would argue that Amazon is growing and will likely continue to grow. Not everyone enjoys the Apple monopoly and hey, those Amazon promos will get people's attention that there IS an alternative to iTunes...I think a vast majority of iPod owners are unaware that Amazon sells downloadable music and/or feel they can ONLY get downloadable music from iTunes.

I would argue that since anyone who visits Amazon can't help but see that they sell downloadable tunes. On the other hand, iTunes makes the finding and purchasing very easy even for non-technical users.

4)As others have stated, wish Amazon and iTunes would offer lossless files for a great price. I would prefer WAV over the Apple format even though WAV doesn't support tags...but iTunes will happily tag it and track it via the iTunes XML file.

WAV does support tags, as I have ripped vinyl albums into iTunes and created tags for them before importing them into iTunes.

 

[Plutonius]

IAmazon is good for buying CD's though.

+1 ....

For individual songs, I use iTunes. If I want the entire CD, I buy the physical CD cheap at Amazon and I rip it.

 

[Plutonius]

I like iTunes, as an Apple iDevice and Mac Pro owner, I have little choice in its use. However, that doesn't mean I don't want to see competition for Apple. Corporate monopolies almost always screw consumers over and sometimes inhibit technological advancements due to market dominance. As consumers, we need more options.

Side note: I've never used Amazon for digital music (perhaps makes me a hypocrite), but it doesn't mean it isn't needed.

How do you feel about the music companies giving Amazon much better prices then they give Apple ?

 

[bobr1952]

I listen to a lot of different music, but I only sporadically repeat a song or artist, so buying music really isn't an option for me. I rather use subscription services (often for the price of one album per month) and buy the music that I absolutely enjoy, than buy one or two albums per month (with a subscription service I normally download 1-2 albums per day).

I will continue to use spotify and zune until iTunes releases its own subscription service.

I use Rhapsody for that reason as well--$10 a month and you can listen to any album you want--and you can download any album to your iPhone to listen to offline. Not for everyone but it fits my needs just fine.

 

[notjustjay]

Of course. If I do not want my information in the music files it is obviously because I am a thief.

No, dear Sir. I just do not want my information in the music files. It does not belong there. I am not a thief and I do not want to be treated like one.

I understand where you're coming from, but if the files only ever appear on your own devices anyway, I don't see why there's cause for concern. My iPod has my name on it when I sync to iTunes. Many of the programs I have purchased require custom serial keys which are generated by using some combination of my name and email address. Every Word document I generate has my name in the Author field encoded in the document metadata.

 

[headphase]

I use Amazon and 7 Digital because they have the MP3 format. I have a Sansa which doesn't support AAC, and at 256, you can't tell the difference.

 

[louis Fashion]

heads up

Same here. I had no idea Amazon offered music discounts.

If you buy a CD or DVD from Amazon you will get a message stating that you are entitled to a discount if you download a song.

I have used this discount, it works.

 

[twoodcc]

i have never bought an album from amazon. and even though i like itunes, i find that i still prefer the cd

 

[Primejimbo]

I am checking out Amazon and a few albums are cheaper and a few I wanted are cheaper on iTunes. I use to swear I would never download music, but now I love it. I have boxes and boxes of CD's I never use since I got an iPod. Those boxes are using up valuable storage space and now no use for a physical CD. I have my music on my Mac, iPod and then backed up on an external hard drive.
I downloaded my 1st album on Amazon, I'll just go whoever is cheaper.

 

[kgtenacious]

If only there was some sort of way to integrate third party retailer's download stores into iTunes.