Amazon Launches MP3 Downloads in the UK

Amazon.co.uk yesterday launched an iTunes rivalling MP3 store. They offer over 3 million songs as they teamed up with Sony BMG, Universal Music, EMI Music and Warner Music.

With the launch it is offering some of the currently top selling albums (like the SD's album of the year Only By The Night by the Kings of Leon) at half price, which equates to £3 per album or 69p per song.

The big advantage here is that it is DRM (Digital Rights Management) free. This means like unlike music you have bought from iTunes you can play it on any device and any number of devices (PC, laptop, iPod, any other MP3 player etc.)

Play.com already offers DRM free downloads at with better quality. Play.com encodes they files at 320 kbit/s, iTunes at 128 kbit/s and Amazon at 256 kbit/s. The quaility does not double as as the bit rate doubles, and you would probably not hear the difference on your standard iPod headset, but for the audiophiles out there that play their MP3'3 over a sound system, there will be a difference.

It didn't take long however for the Pirates to spoil Amazon's party. Some upstart coders have already created a Firefox plug-in that links the e-tailer's service to The Pirate Bay and give you the ability to download the tracks for free or the price of a internet connection. The creators of the software says this about their affiliation with Pirate Bay

“We are not affiliated with The Pirate Bay, and do not host or even link to any illegal content,”

Isn't it just great that the people who sell the guns cannot be prosecuted for what you do with the gun.

Click this link to check out Amazon's MP3 Store.

iTunes is dead long live Amazon...!