Amazon MP3 song prices no real threat to iTunes

Stephen Withers
Monday, 14 January 2008 11:47

Opinion and Analysis

"Two out of three ain't bad," according to Meat Loaf. Amazon's deals with each of the big four labels to deliver DRM-free tracks give it an advantage over Apple in terms of range, and its choice of the MP3 format gives it access to a larger market. But when it comes to per-song prices, Amazon hasn't done enough to establish itself as the much-vaunted iTunes killer.

Look closely at Amazon's catalogue and you'll see that the headline $US0.89 rate only applies to a subset. Sure, the Top 100 are $US0.89 ("unless marked otherwise") but one of the attractions of online music stores is the huge back catalogue, and you can expect to pay more than $US0.89.

Want Aretha Franklin's Respect? That'll be $US0.99.

Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love? $US0.99.

Madonna's Material Girl? $US0.99.

Chuck Berry's Sweet Little 16? $US0.99.

Desmond Dekker's The Israelites? $US0.99.

OK, you get the idea.

If you like classical music, be prepared to pay as much as $3.87 per track - admittedly you're talking about 20-30 minutes of music, so you can't really complain.

As for albums, Amazon MP3's $US8.99 sounds like a useful saving compared with iTunes' $US9.99, but you'll find plenty that cost more at either store.