Internet Marketing and Social Media Consultants

With a host of great reviews and with major record labels openly dissing iTunes, Amazon MP3 is poised to take giant steps this year in the online music battle against Steve Jobs and Apple.

Amazon announced today it will go international this year with DRM-free music around the world. Since three of the four major record labels (Universal, Sony BMG, and Warner) have told Apple they will not release DRM free music on iTunes, Amazon has a big advantage in that particular arena.

Also, Amazon is boasting many top songs and albums at lower prices than iTunes, who charge an extra 30 cents for a DRM-free song. Amazon’s songs are 89 or 99 cents, with albums between $5.99 and $9.99, with the top 100 bestselling albums at $8.99 or less.

Although competition is a good thing in most situations, few can really complain about the role iTunes has played in media distribution. Apple has done a fine job of getting quality content out there at a reasonable price. But variety is the spice of life, and a little friendly rivalry should be good for consumers.

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