I’ve spent the last hour exploring the public beta of Amazon’s digital music store. One of big selling points of the store is that its tracks are recorded at 256 kbps (the iTunes standard is 128 kbps) and they are DRM-free, which means they can be played on any music device without restrictions. The few songs I downloaded sound crisp and vibrant, but it’s difficult to distinguish any difference in quality on my mid-range computer speakers. The interface isn’t as polished and the selection isn’t as extensive as what you’ll find on iTunes, but I suspect that will change in time. Amazon’s entry into the music download business should offer some competition to Apple and force it to drop the higher prices for its DRM-free songs. In the best of all possible worlds, DRM will become a thing of the past and these stores will compete on price and selection alone.
