“After its first full year selling tracks from all four major labels, Amazon’s digital music store has become the second-largest a la carte service, according to industry estimates,” Billboard reports.
“But it’s a very distant second to iTunes,” Billboard reports. “Major-label sources say that they had hoped the company would have fared better than it did.”
MacDailyNews Take: Colluding to offer DRM-free tracks to every Tom, Dick, and Harry online music outfit except Apple didn’t work, did it?
Billboard continues, “Amazon has yet to release any sales figures for digital music, and it did not respond to interview requests for this story. But Piper Jaffray financial analyst Gene Munster estimates that Amazon will sell 130 million tracks this year — a paltry sum compared with the 2.4 billion songs iTunes is expected to sell in 2008.”
“Amazon’s customers are predominantly male — 64 percent, compared with 44 percent for iTunes,” Billboard reports. “The service is also stronger with older demographics: A third of Amazon buyers are 26-35, another third 36-50. Most iTunes users are younger.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “James W.” for the heads up.]
By the way, what ever happened to eMusic?
“Let’s see. If we give our music to Amazon without DRM, then we can break Apple’s dominance and raise our prices later. Yeah, that’ll do it.
Gadzooks! You can remove DRM from Fairplay just by burning to a CD, and reripping, even to a virtual CD. Odds’ bodkins! Why didn’t we realize that before. Sigh. Well, now we’re going to have to give up DRM on iTunes. Crapaciousness! We’ve outsmarted ourselves again…”
—The Keystone RIAA Members
Amazon sent me a coupon for $5 free music today so I went there for the first time. I don’t think it’s that great compared to iTunes. I guess the drm free thing is nice, but honestly I have never noticed that my iTunes music has drm.
Good lord, MDN are the worst type of Apple fanboys…
I own a MacBook and several iPods, and have used Macs since 1998, but there is NOTHING wrong with competition. I hate, loathe, and abhor the RIAA, but they should be encouraging competition in the marketplace. I use the iTunes Store often and although it’s very convenient and well-designed, the sound quality of the tracks is not very good and the DRM is terrible. The Amazon MP3 store provides tracks at 256kbs with no DRM and has a better selection.
Don’t be so quick to condemn something, just because it’s not Apple. Apple is not the greatest company in every facet of business and they deserve criticism when it is justified. This is why most people look at Apple users with derision and disgust. I love my Mac, but this site makes me ill sometimes.
Read it again.
It’s the RIAA that is MDN’s target.
Criticism of Amazon’s offerings is merely collateral damage.
agl82, you do realize they’re criticizing the RIAA, not Amazon, right?
ag182
MDN is not bashing Amazon. They are bashing the idiots who are the RIAA for not offering DRM free tracks to iTunes like they did for everyone else.
Even the staunchest Mac Fan loves it when Apple Inc. gets some competition, because this makes our products even better… not that Apple really needs the competition for this reason.
@agl82
MDN’s take here isn’t about bashing Amazon, it’s about bashing the music cartel for their collusion to offer DRM free music to everyone BUT Apple in hopes of breaking iTunes dominance.
Other than that, it’s just a news story. Or is reporting news that mentions Apple too fanboyish for you?
ag182
Nice you prefer the quality of Amazon’s 256 kB/s MP3 to the ill-sounding 256 kB/s AAC of iTunes.
Troll!
I prefer the audio quality of iTunes over Amazon also.
However, for those that use both, here is a handy little script to shop Amazon within iTunes.
http://www.advantageousmp3.com/mac/
From a recent “MacDailyNews Take”:
MacDailyNews Take: In related news, 38% of the general population can’t name the author of Huckleberry Finn, provide the square root of 9, or name even one planet in our solar system (including Earth), but they can tell you more than you’d ever want to know about Britney’s latest video. These sheepeople will have to repeatedly see and hear about others using Macs for the fact to finally penetrate their nearly impenetrable denseness that Dell’s or anybody else’s Windows PCs are crap. They. Just. Don’t. Get. It. Nor do they read much, if at all. Some can barely speak. Constant drool is not uncommon. Mouth-breathing is a given.
AGL82’s Take:
Let’s face it. Whoever runs this site is a complete asshole. I’m not afraid to say it. He’s an arrogant jerkoff who likes belittling people that aren’t like him. I’m sorry, but I use Macs and Windows machines all the time and both are fine. They each have their own uses and are both just tools. Macs are not sent down from Heaven by Jesus Christ or created from unicorn horns or fairy dust. It’s a plastic/metal box with circuit boards, glass, and a hard drive!
Both Windows machines and Macs can surf the web, create office documents, manipulate photos and video, play DVD movies and music, and everything else. Macs have less viruses because they are more secure (yes!) but also because of significantly less market share. Of course Mac OS X is a better OS, which is why people are hacking it to run on non-Apple machines.
Also, anyone who stoops to insulting the intelligence of Americans because they choose to spend hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars less on a similarly equipped Windows PC is not stupid. All people can’t afford a thousand-dollar computer, especially in this time of economic hardship. Get off your damn highhorse. If any people are sheep, it’s definitely Apple users!
back to the topic:
I am wondering how many of Amazon’s downloads are because of the Pepsi promotion. I Know i have a whole bunch (hey they are free, and I am not an audiophile, I just want to hear a song).
It would be interesting see the numbers with and without the Pepsi point sales.
Of course, I also started using iTunes because of a Pepsi promotion so whatever works.
I prefer itunes since it is more convenient but although its a bit more of a pain to use Amazon I still use it cause it’s free (or rather I’ve already paid for it when I bought Pepsis).
“Amazon’s customers are predominantly male — 64 percent, compared with 44 percent for iTunes,” Billboard reports. “The service is also stronger with older demographics: A third of Amazon buyers are 26-35, another third 36-50. Most iTunes users are younger.””
Looks like Amazon is making the pie bigger. That’s good, because sooner or later, Amazon unique customers will try iTunes. They might not become devoted iTunes users, but they will contribute.
Can we have MDN delete all of Reality Check’s comments from now on? How about if we have a vote and the majority decision rules? Then it’s not even dictatorial censorship, it’s democratic.
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Just kidding RC
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But in all seriousness, if you’re really all that concerned about a Mac Fanboi® site deleting your (or others) comments you probably need… umm… a reality check.
@Reality Check,
“I wonder how many comments MDN deleted or edited on this thread? Post whatever you like folks, as long as MDN agree with your comments!”
If that were really the case, MDN would have banished you long ago.
Think before you post. For a change.
MDN and the vast majority of the participants here are Apple fan boys and fan girls. So MDN and write whatever it wants for that audience. If a person doesn’t like it they are more than welcome to leave and visit a Zune site.
Apple fans read MDN because it aggregates Apple news; simple
“Apple fans read MDN because it aggregates Apple news; simple”
That and provide infantile, biased opinions that reinforce the stereotype of Mac users as smug, elitist douchebags.
agl82 is a poopyhead
@ AGL2 – whats your problem?
This is a MAC SITE – get it?
Its the JOB of this site to report all things Apple, to defend Apple where possible, to be APPLE-CENTRIC.
You, AGL2, must KNOW that, because you are registered here.
You said that this site was: ‘Insulting the intelligence of Americans’ – why not, do Americans have a special ‘get out of stupid free’ card?
(Patriotism – last hiding hole of the scoundrel or the defeated)
Anyone who buys BAD PRODUCT is a fool or worse.
SO that would mean:
Windows purchasers
GM car buyers
Ford car buyers
Chrysler car buyers
Walmart china slave goods buyers
etc., are fools or worse.
Windows machines and Macs can surf the web, create office documents, manipulate photos and video, play DVD movies and music, and everything else.
Yes, but they do it BADLY, and with poor results.
Your assertion that ‘lower market share’ helps Apple be more secure has been disproved many times.
Its the ARCHITECTURE of Windows that makes it crap.
If you want to call the site owners/publishers/writers assholes, you will have to come up with more compelling arguments – sadly for you, that was beyond your ability.
Its also beyond reach for anyone, BECAUSE BAD PRODUCT HAS BLIGHTED OUR UNIVERSE FOR WAY TOO LONG!
Did you hear that, AGL2?
And you use Apple products, you say…
Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, walks like a duck –
ITS A TROLL!
Reality Check, you are such a joke and probably the most pathetic of trolls.
Your post here just goes to prove it – despite all those years of saying: “I use both Macs and PC’s and both are OK” etc etc…
That and provide infantile, biased opinions that reinforce the stereotype of Mac users as smug, elitist douchebags.
That statement is infantile, biased and smug.
Opinions, by their definition, are biased, you twit.
Infantile is not pejorative, its just a statement of age – that makes you an ageist twit.
Thats your stereotype? Thats a convenient semantic fantasy that suits your angry post, but isnt based on anything real, is it?
In fact, the stereotype of Mac users is handsome, wealthy, intelligent, and generally a cut above the hoi polloi! (you see how silly it looks when you make idiotic generalisations, dont you, AGL2?)
WHY are you so angry, AGL2?
Sit down on the couch and tell me about your disappointing life….
Quoth agl82;
“Let’s face it. Whoever runs this site is a complete asshole. I’m not afraid to say it. He’s an arrogant jerkoff who likes belittling people that aren’t like him. “
Pot, meet Mr Kettle. Kettle, Mr Pot.
It’s going to mighty difficult explaining how you’re one bit different from those you criticize with comments like that, don’tcha think?
Do major-label’s like shooting themselves in the foot? They get paid for this?
I don’t buy DRM music. I also don’t buy from anyone else but iTunes. If the label’s won’t sell it to me where I want to buy it, I just wont buy it.
If they force me to go somewhere else then . . well . . . there are places that don’t cost anything.
Hey Music Labels!
When you want my money, let me know.
I use Amazon often. Like when iTunes says I have to buy a whole album to get one song. Or maybe the song simply isn’t on iTunes. Amazon’s music isn’t DRM’d. I can just import it into iTunes and put it on my pod. Come to think of it, I’ve been buying quite of lot of mp3’s from Amazon lately. Sorry Apple, I’m not here to provide you with a living, your here to provide me a service or product. Do it my way, or I go somewhere else. That’s capitalism baby.
“I use Amazon often. Like when iTunes says I have to buy a whole album to get one song. Or maybe the song simply isn’t on iTunes. Amazon’s music isn’t DRM’d. I can just import it into iTunes and put it on my pod. Come to think of it, I’ve been buying quite of lot of mp3’s from Amazon lately. Sorry Apple, I’m not here to provide you with a living, your here to provide me a service or product. Do it my way, or I go somewhere else. That’s capitalism baby.”
BINGO! I agree completely.
Oh, and Derek in Milan, who is “AGL2”?