People prefer Itunes over Amazon MP3 (even if it's more expensive)

[EbookReader]

The USA digital music market share is something like this

Itunes: 70%
Amazon MP3: 15%
everyone else: the rest

Source: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9177395/Apple_controls_70_of_U.S._music_download_biz

A very large majority of Amazon top 50 songs are priced at $0.99 compare to Itunes $1.29.
Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/162784/amazon_top_songs_now_priced_cheaper_than_itunes.html

Or you can go see for yourself. Just counted, 14 of the top 20 songs are priced at $0.99. They are sold at $1.29 on Itunes.


Music retailers pay about $0.903 wholesale for a song and they can price it accordingly (high mark-up, discount, loss etc...). Itunes sell it at $1.29 for a 30% mark-up.

 

[chaosbunny]

Well, I prefer CDs over both. But some people are happy to pay more for less as long as marketing tells them it's "the future".

 

[AdrianK]

Not really surprising, iTunes is a much more familiar brand. I doubt that anyone I know who downloads from iTunes even knows that amazon sells MP3s.

Personally I just go to whichever is cheapest (it is sometimes iTunes).

 

[roadbloc]

Well, I prefer CDs over both. But some people are happy to pay more for less as long as marketing tells them it's "the future".

This. If I do not buy CD I do buy from iTunes however. iTunes is higher quality and you can redownload again free if you lose the files.

 

[vrDrew]

Is there really that much difference between paying $1.29 and 99 cents?

Not really that much for most consumers. Unless you are a very heavy purchaser of music (say ten songs a month) - it doesn't add up to very much.

The main thing (for me, at least) is trust and experience. I've bought a few things from Amazon - both physical and digital download - and I always find myself getting (unsolicited) e-mails from them as a result. Not so with Apple and iTunes.

To me, its like this: If a retailer can't make a decent profit selling you the product you actually want - then they'll inevitably resort to some "sneaky" way of selling you something you don't really want. And this, IMHO, is the problem with the entire Amazon business model.

 

[boss.king]

Is there really that much difference between paying $1.29 and 99 cents?

Not really that much for most consumers. Unless you are a very heavy purchaser of music (say ten songs a month) - it doesn't add up to very much.

The main thing (for me, at least) is trust and experience. I've bought a few things from Amazon - both physical and digital download - and I always find myself getting (unsolicited) e-mails from them as a result. Not so with Apple and iTunes.

To me, its like this: If a retailer can't make a decent profit selling you the product you actually want - then they'll inevitably resort to some "sneaky" way of selling you something you don't really want. And this, IMHO, is the problem with the entire Amazon business model.

If 10 songs a month is a heavy user I'd hate to think what I am. Maybe its just because most of the stuff I listen to is free but I get a few albums a week sometimes, and at least 4-5 per month. If I was paying for them I'd definitely be opting for iTunes though simply because of familiarity.

 

[decafjava]

Well, I prefer CDs over both. But some people are happy to pay more for less as long as marketing tells them it's "the future".

Well aren't cd's usually more expensive? Not sure elsewhere but a new (recent release) cd in the shops usually runs about 21 CHF here in Switzerland while it rcosts about 17 on iTunes. I buy cds and more and more from iTunes (saves space in my flat and as roadbloc points out you can always redownload).

I never bothered with amazon downloads since I tried downloading from the US or Uk stores which restricted access and did not bother navigating the German site. Besides, I tend to buy myself gift cards to budget my spending on both apps and music so it's easier to buy from one source.

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iTunes is higher quality and you can redownload again free if you lose the files.

BTW not doubting you but can you back the higher quality claim up?

 

[rhett7660]

Well, I prefer CDs over both. But some people are happy to pay more for less as long as marketing tells them it's "the future".

This. If I do not buy CD I do buy from iTunes however. iTunes is higher quality and you can redownload again free if you lose the files.

Same here. I still buy the CD. However if it is song that is one off, I will usually just buy from iTunes. I have bought from amazon.com in the past. No complaints with either service. But for me 95% of the time it is buying the physical CD.

I do buy most of my CD's used though. $2-5 per CD including shipping.... Brings the price per song down considerably.

 

[roadbloc]

BTW not doubting you but can you back the higher quality claim up?

I thought that Amazon MP3 was 128Kbps MP3 however after looking it up, its actually 256Kbps. Not sure how MP3 compares with AAC.

 

[MorphingDragon]

This. If I do not buy CD I do buy from iTunes however. iTunes is higher quality and you can redownload again free if you lose the files.

Yes, AAC has better quality than MP3.

Still !@#$ compared to FLAC and ALAC though.

 

[rhett7660]

Yes, AAC has better quality than MP3.

Still !@#$ compared to FLAC and ALAC though.

Well of course they are.....

 

[EbookReader]

Yes, AAC has better quality than MP3.

Do most listeners actually notice the sound difference between AAC and 256Kbps MP3?

 

[MorphingDragon]

Do most listeners actually notice the sound difference between AAC and 256Kbps MP3?

I don't know. But at the technical level AAC is superior.

 

[steve2112]

Do most listeners actually notice the sound difference between AAC and 256Kbps MP3?

I could tell the difference between 128 and 256 MP3s, but I couldn't tell much difference between anything better than 256. I also couldn't tell any difference between AAC and a good quality MP3. Then again, my hearing is shot.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

This. If I do not buy CD I do buy from iTunes however. iTunes is higher quality and you can redownload again free if you lose the files.

Amazon allows redownloading of songs for free as well. It is all stored in your cloud drive and anything bought from Amazon does not count against your storage limit.
As for quality I find that Apple and Amazon are about the same. Differences is the Amazon file play on more stuff than Apple.

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I thought that Amazon MP3 was 128Kbps MP3 however after looking it up, its actually 256Kbps. Not sure how MP3 compares with AAC.

Amazon uses the variable bit encoding. It makes the file a little smaller with zero loss of quality compared to what the max rate is for what they are encoding. I believe it is 256 but I would not be surprised if they bump it up to 320 in the near future to compete with Google.

 

[roadbloc]

Amazon allows redownloading of songs for free as well. It is all stored in your cloud drive and anything bought from Amazon does not count against your storage limit.

Ah forgot about Amazon Cloud. My info is all out of date.

As for quality I find that Apple and Amazon are about the same. Differences is the Amazon file play on more stuff than Apple.

You can play AAC files from iTunes in other media players and portable devices no problem. Or at least I have never found one that is incapable.

One of the reasons I am more inclined to use the iTunes Store over Amazon for music downloads (I mostly use Amazon for their great CD deals) is because of iTunes Match, which is pretty much the only redeeming feature that makes it the media player of my choice. I do wish Apple would start again with the iTunes Software, its awfully bloated and messy. Especially on my Windows machines.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Ah forgot about Amazon Cloud. My info is all out of date.

I want to say they even went back and retro actively put stuff in their before the cloud came out any ways but I am not sure. Even if it is just the cloud it been the way I describe it since day 1 of the cloud for new stuff.

You can play AAC files from iTunes in other media players and portable devices no problem. Or at least I have never found one that is incapable.

One of the reasons I am more inclined to use the iTunes Store over Amazon for music downloads (I mostly use Amazon for their great CD deals) is because of iTunes Match, which is pretty much the only redeeming feature that makes it the media player of my choice. I do wish Apple would start again with the iTunes Software, its awfully bloated and messy. Especially on my Windows machines.

Well it is becoming less and less of an issue of what can and can not play AAC files but do not forget their are quite a few older devices still in use that can play VBR mp3 files than can not play AAC files. An example of an older device still in use would be my car's stereo which can play mp3 burnt to a data disk but can not play AAC files on it. Mind you my car is 8 years old.

I switch completely to Amazon MP3 at first because 1. it was cheaper and 2. mp3 play on anything pretty much anything and at the time the same could not be said about AAC files. Since then Amazon prices generally beat out Apple for me so I stuck with them.

 

[yg17]

I want to say they even went back and retro actively put stuff in their before the cloud came out any ways but I am not sure. Even if it is just the cloud it been the way I describe it since day 1 of the cloud for new stuff.



Well it is becoming less and less of an issue of what can and can not play AAC files but do not forget their are quite a few older devices still in use that can play VBR mp3 files than can not play AAC files. An example of an older device still in use would be my car's stereo which can play mp3 burnt to a data disk but can not play AAC files on it. Mind you my car is 8 years old.

I switch completely to Amazon MP3 at first because 1. it was cheaper and 2. mp3 play on anything pretty much anything and at the time the same could not be said about AAC files. Since then Amazon prices generally beat out Apple for me so I stuck with them.

Same with my car (only 3 years old). It will play MP3s burned to a CD, but not AACs. As a result, I only buy from Amazon.

 

[chaosbunny]

Well aren't cd's usually more expensive?

Well I guess it's a little bit different depending on where you live and what you buy. I almost never buy new releases. I look in the discount shelves or trays where they sell older (but sometimes only 1-2 years old) CDs and DVDs for 2-5 €. Just recently I bought a couple of CDs for 4 € each that still cost 10 € each on iTunes.

 

[LethalWolfe]

I don't know. But at the technical level AAC is superior.

I think the rule of thumb is that ACC is twice as efficient as MP3 so, all other things being equal, 128 AAC should sound the same as 256 MP3.

I usually go w/Amazon because of prices (some albums have been $2-3 cheaper), greater backwards compatibility and convenience. I say convenience because I do a lot of shopping and video watching at Amazon anyway so it's actually more mouse clicks to hop over to the iTMS. I've also never had the spam problem from Amazon that vrDrew has. I get more unsolicited emails from Apple than I do from Amazon.

I still prefer to buy CDs but for bands that I like but don't love, or if I don't want the whole album, I'll just buy the files.


Lethal

 

[Tinyluph]

Amazon MP3's do not sound nearly as good to me. Just went and sampled "Glad You Came" from The Wanted to reconfirm my belief. I don't really see how one could not notice the difference.

Even quality aside though I buy from iTunes because it's the most convenient and trustworthy digital music service there is. One click buy. No managing. Always good album art/information. The music browsing experience is also a lot better than what Amazon has to offer, with longer music samples.

 

[hexonxonx]

I have always preferred iTunes over Amazon simply for the convenience. Sure Amazon has a downloader that downloads the MP3 directly to iTunes but then, iTunes store is fun to browse.

I have discovered many new (old and new) bands from iTunes recommendations.

Most times, I have found Amazon to have the same prices on MP3s. As far as videos, I've seen iTunes have better prices on some seasons and other times when Amazon has better prices. I still ended up buying them on iTunes.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Amazon MP3's do not sound nearly as good to me. Just went and sampled "Glad You Came" from The Wanted to reconfirm my belief. I don't really see how one could not notice the difference.

Even quality aside though I buy from iTunes because it's the most convenient and trustworthy digital music service there is. One click buy. No managing. Always good album art/information. The music browsing experience is also a lot better than what Amazon has to offer, with longer music samples.

see when you say could not noticed the difference I think you are letting your mind play tricks on you. You were expecting it to sound worse so it sounds worse.

If you were sampling it from online then yes it is going to sound worse. Those tend to get down sampled to lower quality for bandwidth reasons. Most of the time it is people confirming it is what they want or just making sure they like the song. No reason to put the bandwidth sucking quality of the max when something that might eat up 1/2 as much will work 99% of the time.

 

[Tinyluph]

see when you say could not noticed the difference I think you are letting your mind play tricks on you. You were expecting it to sound worse so it sounds worse.

If you were sampling it from online then yes it is going to sound worse. Those tend to get down sampled to lower quality for bandwidth reasons. Most of the time it is people confirming it is what they want or just making sure they like the song. No reason to put the bandwidth sucking quality of the max when something that might eat up 1/2 as much will work 99% of the time.

So you admit the samples are worse quality? What?

Apple doesn't seem to have any trouble hosting them.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

So you admit the samples are worse quality? What?

Apple doesn't seem to have any trouble hosting them.

Apple is also sending them threw a different system and Apple to play it on much more controlled hardware settings.

But you were comparing a streaming version to a download version. That makes a huge difference.

My download bought version of stuff from Amazon sounds a lot better than the samples you can play from Amazon selection. I do find it funny you entire argument was based on the SAMPLE.