Amazon.com and Itunes both offer a huge selection of downloadable MP3’s. Both services charge 99 cents or less per song. They are both very easy to use and are constantly availabe when you get the itch to hear something new. There is, however, one huge difference between them.

Itunes songs all contain DRM, digital rights management. All of the songs you download from Itunes have a lock on them. They will play on your ipod, (if you go through the right steps to make your ipod official with Apple). But lets say you make a family movie and want to add an MP3 that you downloaded from Itunes to it, you can’t. If you want to put the music on your memory stick and play it in your car, you can’t. If your device doesn’t support DRM, then you can’t play the song that YOU PAID FOR.

Amazon.com mp3’s cost the same and come WITHOUT digital rights management. There is much more sense of ownership when you buy an MP3 on Amazon. It is an MP3 that will play on any device that will play MP3’s. If you want to bring the song into your video software and make a movie of Grandma’s 90th birthday party you can. If you want to play it in your car’s MP3 player, you can.

Keep in mind that the Artist retains the same rights when you buy the MP3 from either service, ITUNES just holds a billy club over your head to remind you.

Go to Amazon.com mp3’s section and do a search for your favorite music. When you download your music here you won’t find a cigarette butt in your drink to kill your buzz.

Mark

See CNET’s recent head to head between Amazon and ITUNES. Spoiler, Amazon wins!