A Mac decision that I DON'T think is genius. Why would you buy a song for more on iTunes when you could get the exact same thing for cheaper on AmazonMP3.com
?Lifehacker:
iTunes updated their pricing structure to a new system today, pricing tracks at $0.69, $0.99, and $1.29. They're calling it "variable pricing," but Gizmodo more accurately calls it the "Popular Songs Cost More Money" system.The simple new system works like so: Most new releases and traditionally popular songs go for the more expensive $1.29 price point (where $0.99 used to be the flat standard). Apple tries to sugarcoat this expanded price point by suggesting that the $0.69 tracks will offset the 30% price hike, but guess what: You'll be hard pressed to find a single $0.69 song in the iTunes store. (They're there, but finding them is like a really boring scavenger hunt where the reward is an extremely crappy song.) What you will find is a whole lot more $1.29 tracks, and pretty much everything else selling for $0.99.
What's this mean, exactly? For our money, it means we'd heartily encourage anyone who'd been using iTunes for music purchases to give the AmazonMP3.com
12 comments:
Plus with Amazon you can get a real MP3 which can be burned to audio CD, whereas with iTunes, you are limited to your PC and iPod (as far as I know)… so, I’ve used Amazon for that reason already….
You can burn AIFFs to audio CD, but not to MP3 CD. It is still a hassle, though. Has ITunes removed the copyright protections yet? I had heard that was in the works, but haven't seen any announcement that it has take place.
Oh, and Zach, you are the one who converted me to Amazon MP3 over ITunes.
Could be worse. You could be here in Australia where you can't use amazon mp3 and iTunes has just made a lot of popular songs AU$2.19 (thats equivilant to US$1.56 at the moment) which is more than you have to pay in the US.
I am interested in knowing who pockets the difference -- the artist or Apple? Does the artist still get amount A per song, or do they get A + some part of 30 or 60 cents more?
I've switched to Music Giants, which is now allowing CD quality downloads.
mp3's and their iTunes/WMA equivalents are ruining music because when converted to that digital format, a lot of the richness (and yes, some sounds) are removed in order to compress the file. The popularity of these services means that musicians are now making music FOR mp3-type files, which means that much of the new stuff coming out of studios is of much lower quality (sonically) that what we were seeing even 10 years ago.
I've never had a problem burning any mp3 or itunes AAC file to CD - at least with Mac. It automatically converts the mp3/AAC to an AIFF and burns it to the CD. Of course, the audio quality is still what it was at the mp3/AAC stage.
From what I understand, iTunes files are now all 256K rather than 128K when they started - which is at least a bit better sound than they used to be. (They used to call these files "iTunes Plus.") As well, if I'm correct, an iTunes 256K AAC file is "supposed" to sound better than an Amazon 256K MP3 which is what they offer, and the iTunes files are smaller in size by a bit too if I'm correct.
Apple has removed the copy protection/DRM from it's files so you can share as many times as you want now illegally! (grin)
My guess is - look for Amazon to start offering the same tiered pricing or higher prices. They'd be stupid to do that, but my guess is they will if Apple's going to get away with it.
@Sife: I don't know of too many artists or audio professionals that are making recordings for "mp3" quality. That really doesn't serve any purpose. If they're worth their weight at all they're still shooting for great sonics no matter what. I don't know of a musician who wouldn't be! (being one myself.) Modern studio tools have made it easier and cheaper than ever to get GREAT sounding recordings at a mere fraction of what it cost 10 years ago. Many artists can do in their bedroom now with a computer what used to be done in the studio.
Probably the biggest crime being committed, which most audio engineers hate, is that artists are going for as LOUD of a recording as they can get, the theory being that the louder it sounds, the more attention it gets on radio (which is stupid) and everyone wants their tunes to be louder (mostly rappers/rockers etc.) so the dynamics of music has all but vanished. Listen to a record from the 70s vs. a recording now and you can tell the differences in the softs and louds. I worked with one of the top mastering engineers in Hollywood (Bernie Grundman) some years back and that's all he talked about is how everyone wants the entire CD to be LOUD and there's no dynamics being left in music today. That and of course FM radio compresses everything so it's always hearable in your car no matter what! :-)
CNet reports that Amazon will be following suit, but not quickly, however it does report (and I looked and confirmed) that several songs on their top downloads are now $1.29 on Amazon. (several Britney Spears song among them.) See here http://tinyurl.com/d5sp3v
@Mark Smith: I believe the idea with the higher prices was the pressure Apple was getting to release the DRM (Digital Rights Management) from their tunes - i.e. copy protection. But in doing so, they faced pressure from the industry to make up for what would be considered revenue loss from opening up the floodgates of copying files. I'm not sure if anyone is making any more or not - one stream of revenue is supposedly making up for another lost. Not sure however - just what I've read here and there on all this.
Yeah...
Zach, your post makes sense, except that you have to understand that Amazon is playing a game.
They're in a huge contract with Pepsi, and together, the companies are planning to operate Amazon MP3 at a loss for the first two years to get a big enough market share to compete with iTunes.
Now that that's rolling, you can expect Amazon to change the game quite a bit to stay competitive and start making a profit!
more on Amazon and Wal Mart too following suit with variable pricing from Mac Rumors . . .
http://tinyurl.com/cvc4ew
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