Amazon Plans Music Service To Rival iPod

theodp writes "The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Amazon is in advanced talks with the four global music companies about a digital-music service that could be launched as soon as this summer. It would feature Amazon-branded portable music players, designed and built for the retailer, and a subscription service that would deeply discount and preload those devices with songs."

Will they be able to compete?

[VJ42]

With Apple having such dominance of the market, will they be able to compete? Afterall, even now every commonplace mp3 player is oten referred to as an iPod, so won't people just think of this as an "Amazon iPod"? Unless they have a few tricks up their sleeve, some people will take this as a cheap copy and want "the real thing (tm)"

But wait!

[EraserMouseMan]

That means that iTunes will have serious competition. It will be interesting to watch the battle. Competition is good.

ipod killer huh?

[minus_273]

ipod killer huh? how many times have we heard that recently. It is interesting though that amazon is now in the hardware business. Oh wait, the article title "Plans Music Service To Rival iPod" is wrong.

Oh crap. they are getting into the hardware business.. and the article title is from the WSJ not slashdot. The summary says nothing about that though. i wonder how many people who didnt RTFA are going to post something like the paragraph above. :-p

Changing technology fields.

[pubjames]

It's just struck me that an interesting trend is occuring. During the 90's, the company that owned the software was the winner, in other words, Microsoft became so dominant in the PC industry because they dominated the OS space, the hardware just became a commodity. They (and pretty much everyone else) though the same thing would happen in the mobile and 'living room' spaces. But it's not - the hardware is becoming more important - Microsoft realise that they only way they are getting into people's living rooms is coming out with their own hardware (the X-Box). Similarly in the mobile space, it's the ones that control the hardware that are going to win - so to compete in the digital content market Amazon is having to make its own version of the iPod, and Microsoft is also considering it. So we have software companies and online shops turning into electronics manufacturers.

 

What sales tactics?

[Fe11Drake]

I'd be more concerned with how Amazon might push CD sales with this scheme... imagine: Buy our flashy .com branded player, and we'll preload them with music for you! ... provided you first buy the album from us in retail form, at "deeply slashed" prices. as for individual song sales, how can they find a sales model to rival iTunes? And is Amazon going to go proprietary in regards to file format, or will they stick with .mp3? I'd imagine they'd have to license that out too, if you wanted your A-maz-pod to get preloaded...

Not impressed

[BewireNomali]

This won't be competition for the ipod/itunes.

the itunes issue isn't about cost. music is anonymously free all over the net. people WANT to pay for itunes. an amazon branded electronics device won't be competition for the ipod for two reasons: (1) its going to have to be spectacular to compete with the ipod on looks/UI alone (harder than it sounds), and (2) people like to know who is making their products (i.e. a brand). Amazon isn't known as an electronics maker - it's like Walmart selling a DAP.

I haven't read the article, but if Amazon expects its brand to move DAPS, they are mistaken. If they think they can honestly compete with Apple on heart-share (Apple succeeds in establishing an emotive connection with its users, thus inspiring loyalty - it's like a wierd kind of nationalism or something) or on design - it seems like a fools errand.

That's a licensing minefield

[Rogerborg]

So, let me try and get this straight. I can't sell my current player on eBay with pre-loaded tracks, but I can buy a new one from Amazon with pre-loaded tracks? OK, fine, what happens when I want to sell the Amazon one? Can I sell it with those pre-loaded tracks (and only those, and how do I know several years down the line which ones were pre-loaded) or do I have to strip them off as well? Can I copy them off and back them up? If the device dies and needs a hardware replacement, can (and will) Amazon pre-load the new hardware with the same tracks, or do I have to pay for them again? Will my insurance cover the cost of replacing these tracks (and any others that I've downloaded) as well as the device if it's broken or stolen, and even if does in theory, how can I prove that they were actually still on the device when it was lost?

It's a bit rich for music megacorps to demand that we respect copyright law when an informed and educated person can't in all honesty figure out what the law is, or specifically how it applies in cases like these.

Don't Confuse the Terms

[h2d2]

"Preloading" here doesn't mean there gonna load their Mp3 Players with "goodies" like those promised used iPods from eBay. Instead, it means that you will be able to by a bunch of songs along with your Amazon Mp3 Player that will be loaded on to the player prior to delivery. And I am sure this would be a introductory special offer, like by an Amazon Mp3 Player and get 50 free songs (or 25; or 100!)

Oh, and before you go on and bash this service to be "loaded with DRM bullshit", please tell how exactly is Apple's service WITHOUT any DRM? And isn't it true that with every iTunes update Apple keeps adding more and more restrictions to how you can use YOUR OWN MUSIC!

I for one, welcome our new South American Jungle Mp3 Cartel Overloads...

Re:Ah well...hope springs eternal for marketing ty

[westlake]

Is the consumer expected to look at an Amazon-branded MP3 player they've never seen before and think, "Ah, Amazon! They do such a good job shipping gifts on or around Christmas, I'll bet their digital music service rocks?"

Amazon is evolving into something like the Sears, Roebuck catalog, which was in every middle class home for 100 years. I think this can work.

The only way this can work.

[Radak]

There is one way I can see an Amazon-branded player/service work, and that is for Amazon to pair digital downloads with physical purchases, at least optionally.

We are all impatient when we buy a new CD. We want to hear the music right now. For a lot of people, this means stealing a copy of the music to hear in the interim. Unfortunately for the industry, for a lot more, it means stealing the music outright and never paying for it.

So what if Amazon let me buy a CD on their site and then immediately download all the tracks to my Amazon-branded player, and then a few days later, the physical disc arrived in the mail for me to add to my collection, at which point I could erase the digital copy from my player, or just leave it there and continue to listen to that copy, secure in the knowledge that I have a physical copy, with artwork, securely stored at home?

The ability to buy online and listen instantly *coupled* with the ability to own a physical CD copy of something is the one thing every digital download service thusfar has failed to deliver and is the one reason I don't use any of them. I have an iPod, but I've never bought a single track from iTMS. I still buy CDs and rip them to mp3 to fill my iPod, and yes, sometimes I P2P a copy of something I've just bought, because I want to hear it without waiting for it to arrive.

If Amazon provided this kind of service, paired with a high quality, functional Amazon-branded player, I would seriously consider dumping my iPod for their player. I don't see any other program being successful for them.