more DRM-free music – and Amazon needs a clue

Amazon has launched Amazon MP3, a DRM-free music store. From the press release:

Amazon MP3 Offers Over 2 Million Songs From More Than 180,000 Artists and Over 20,000 Labels, Including EMI Music and Universal Music Group

So that’s the second label (Universal Music Group) that is starting to get a clue. Welcome to the party guys. Two more to go

Here’s the URL for the actual store: Amazonmp3, which is missing from the press release (?!).

I wanted to buy some music – the prices are good, and DRM-free music needs to be supported. So I clicked over to the new Interpol album, only to be greeted with this page about the handy little Amazon MP3 downloader application that is required for album purchases. It’s proprietary software, of course, and on top of that, only available for Mac OS X a and Windows.

Hello Amazon? Have you gone out of your mind? What is wrong with a downloadable archive file, which is how Audio Lunchbox sells its music (including cover art)? You’ve just lost a sale, guys – I run GNU/Linux, and this is ridiculous.