It took a little bit longer than expected but the UK version of Amazon MP3 is finally here. During the summer many thought the store would launch in September, now Amazon did a “soft launch” – meaning they are not really making a lot of noise about it.
They should, though. The prices for some top frontline releases are ridiculously low. “Only By The Night”, one of my favorite albums this year by Kings Of Leon, is only £3 ($4.42/€3.50). And so are many other hot titles. For instance, Take That’s “The Circus” which was released just this week is being offered for £3 as well. Most albums seem to have a £6.49 ($9.57/€7.58) sticker, though.
Individual tracks are as cheap as £0.59 ($0.87/€0.69) and go up to £0.80. Some recent hits are also being sold at this steep discount that not only targets iTunes UK but also all the other MP3 stores like 7digital, PlayDigital or HMV. Hottest cheap track for the season: “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues.
All four majors are on board and several independent labels like Beggars Group, IODA, The Orchard, Cooking Vinyl or Harmonmia Mundi. However, there remain holes in the available catalog (appr. three million songs) at launch. Some examples that matter especially in Britain: no Oasis, no Arctic Monkeys, no Franz Ferdinand.
[...] 59 Pence for a song, £3 for an album – how in the world does Amazon UK plan to make money on selling downloads? I suppose by selling a shitload of songs every day. This service will only be more than a huge [...]