03-20-2010, 12:30 AM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 518
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MP3 Downloads: Amazon or iTunes?
"...I heard a song that I liked a lot.... The next day I was thinking to myself that perhaps the rest of the album was worth getting.... So I went over to iTunes I saw that it was available for $9.99.... [But] I... discovered that it was available on Amazon.com for a good bit less...." 
Dan Cohen at GearDiary has done a small comparison of MP3 album prices between Amazon and iTunes. His article points out some interesting differences between the two sites, such as albums having differing number of tracks, which certainly surprised me! He concludes that Amazon was the less expensive retailer, at least for the titles he compared. Frankly, I have never downloaded an MP3 album, as I still prefer a "hard copy" (a CD, or LP...), but for those of you who have, is Amazon or iTunes your vendor of choice? And is price the only important distinction between the two? Or are there other retailers which offer even better bargains or other advantages?
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03-20-2010, 12:41 AM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,291
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Amazon, they offered DRM free tracks first, so were the first to get my business, and I've stayed with them. But usually just for individual tracks. When I go to buy a full album, I usually notice that I can get a used copy of the CD for less than the download and take that route instead.
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03-20-2010, 01:48 AM
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Oracle
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 984
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I posted this reply at geardiary, but one reason I'll think about staying with iTunes is that they offer "complete this album" pricing, so if you buy a couple of tracks and then want the rest of the album, you'll still pay less than you would on Amazon doing the same thing.
Also, if you have an iPod/iPhone and sync iTunes purchased content, if you lose any purchased tracks from your PC - accidentally delete, have to format the PC without a good backup - any iTunes purchased content on the device can be synced back to iTunes.
I usually buy from iTunes, sometimes I check both stores, about 1/3rd of the time I buy from Amazon (losing tracks is not so big a deal for me, because I back up like crazy.)
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03-20-2010, 07:28 AM
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Contributing Editor
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,503
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*ahem* iTunes is AAC, isn't it?
__________________
Baka. Soku. Zan. - The justice behind the dysORDer.
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03-20-2010, 08:26 PM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 518
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*ahem* iTunes is AAC, isn't it?
Lee: What does "AAC" refer to?
Was trying to go for a recording sequence (Analog - Analog - C???) - or perhaps a specific type of encoding / compression?
AND: is it a Good Thing, or a Bad Thing??? 
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03-21-2010, 05:01 AM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 667
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Doogald, with all due respect, does iTunes replace a Word document that accidentally gets deleted from your computer that you worked weeks to create? I know that sounds non-sequitor to the conversation, but here's the thing. Anyone with any sense has a backup plan in place for the files on their computer. In fact, I'd say that my MP3s are some of the least important things I have on my computer. Years of research data and teaching materials are priceless so I don't put them at risk by failing to back them up. My Amazon MP3 files are just files... completely DRM free and easily available for me to backup just like any other type of data. So having iTunes restore them has no value at all. The 'complete an album' feature is nice, though. There is definitely value in that. But it's not enough. Really, I just don't get why I would pay more money for a file that is protected than for a DRM-free Amazon MP3.
Actually, Chris's post resonated with me. I have never bought a DRM'd music file. For years, before Amazon started their service, I either bought the CD or went without. Once Amazon got started, I went with them, have downloaded a pretty fair amount of music, and I see no reason to buy anywhere else. I do sometimes download entire albums, but more often I just pick the tracks I like. When I do want an album, I compare the prices and sometimes find it cheaper (or the same) to buy the CD. When that happens, I buy the CD and rip it to both FLAC (for permanent archiving) and MP3 (for playing). Otherwise, I pick and choose and I'm happy with the way Amazon works and the quality of their files.
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03-21-2010, 05:50 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 338
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Gohlke
Amazon, they offered DRM free tracks first, so were the first to get my business, and I've stayed with them.
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Ditto. I didn't (and don't) like DRM in any flavor.
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03-21-2010, 08:08 AM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,350
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I choose iTunes, because it's the only one of the two that will sell items to me in The Netherlands.
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Hybrid Mode
