With all the hub bub about music stores mainly dropping DRM en masse, I ventured in myself to see if it was true. After a particular tune caught my… ear on the previously mentioned Pandora, I went in hunt of this connecting song.
I checked out a few vendors and finally settled on Amazon. They had the best deal and I had already settled on purchasing the entire album where this song resides in hopes of finding similarly delightful songs. Following the 99 cents per song and $9.99 per album, Amazon was somehow offering a better deal on the album from 2004. The biggest dilemma was actually to take the digital route and just download the MP3’s or to go the analog route where I could get a brand new copy of the CD delivered to me and do the ripping myself for one-third the price. In a combination of compulsive purchasing and remembered annoyance at failed UPS deliveries I took the digital passageway to attaining music.
While the music is DRM-free, for purchasing Albums Amazon requires you to download and install an album-downloader application. I was initially worried about this application because it reminds me of DRM-related -retarded days with something authenticating my computer. Amazon promises it is a small file and they were correct as the installer measures in at 592kB. It installs quickly and without much bother. It simply responds to .AMZ files being downloaded and opened and then launches to queue up the tracks in order.
All’s well that ends well. The tracks were downloaded quickly by the small app to the My Music folder by default and closed after it had performed its task. Competition is almost always beneficial for the consumer, particularly competent competition.