DRM-Free Music with AmazonMP3
I recently ran headlong into the wall that is Apple iTunes DRM (also known as FairPlay). What is DRM? The short explanation, for those of you who need it, is that DRM is Apple iTunes' method of protecting music from being "shared" or "pirated". The argumentative answer is that DRM is a means by which corporate stooges control what we consumers are allowed to do with our purchased music.
The Hymn Project has not kept up with iTunes updates for some time and there are no Mac compatible DRM stripping apps I am aware of at this time. But, I digress ... Why did I have a run-in with DRM? I recently upgraded an iPod and passed my old model along to my wife. I also purchased an iPhone. In the process of uploading my iTunes library to my new iPod and selected songs to my iPhone, I discovered a large number of albums that would not copy to either new device.
Why? Well, iTunes DRM authorizes your computer for every iTunes store purchase and then assigns a globally unique ID to each device that iTunes syncs it's library with. That's all well and good until you reach the limit of five (5) authorized machines for each song/album. After so many years of purchasing music through iTunes combined with upgrading numerous machines, I had apparantly reached my limit of authorizations with certain albums.
Needless to say, I was rather peeved and did what any normal person would do. I ranted for a minute, then clicked over to Amazon to purchase a new album.
Enter Amazon MP3, their new 'beta' album download service. I decided to give it a whirl and compare its' ease of use with iTunes. It should be noted that comparing the two services is rather unfair. There really isn't any way Amazon's service could be more convenient than purchasing directly through iTunes. The question then is "does Amazon make the process easy enough to switch?"
Turns out, once you download and install the AmazonMP3Downloader (which takes 20 seconds), all you have to do is select "Copy to iTunes" in the preferences, and the process for purchasing music through Amazon becomes every bit as easy as purchasing directly through iTunes. The Amazon Downloader automatically adds the new album or songs to iTunes and also creates a backup "Amazon MP3" folder in your Music folder for all of your purchased music. Nice.
So, what are the benefits of purchasing downloadable music through Amazon?
(1) MP3s are DRM-Free
(2) The album I purchased was over a $1 cheaper on Amazon than it was through iTunes. It goes without saying that not every album will be cheaper, but it's nice to have the option to compare prices.
For my money, Amazon just got more of my business and Apple ... Well, I think you can finish this thought.
