Amazon Cuts MP3 Prices

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The folks at Amazon’s MP3 store know their true competition-Apple’s widely successful iTunes music store-and are going for the throat. In order to compete with Apple’s MP3 giant, Amazon recently announced that they would be offering variably priced specials on both new and classic albums.

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The folks at Amazon’s MP3 store know their true competition-Apple’s widely successful iTunes music store-and are going for the throat. In order to compete with Apple’s MP3 giant, Amazon recently announced that they would be offering variably priced specials on both new and classic albums.

This move is a response to Apple’s 99-cent per song standard that NBC CEO Jeff Zucker believes has “destroyed the music business in terms of pricing.” In addition to albums already discounted by Amazon (which are typically produced by lesser-known artists), two new specials will provide customers with a cheaper alternative to both iTunes and record stores.

The first of these new programs, “Daily Deals,” offers a new album each day at an incredibly low price (for example, Coldplay’s X&Y was $2, Madonna’s new Hard Candy went for $3.99). These bargain prices only last for the day assigned, but are a great opportunity for customers to boost their collections at little cost.

Amazon’s other low-cost venture is the “Friday Five,” which offers various classic and popular albums for $5 a piece. A different five will be chosen each Friday, which will be announced on Amazon’s website. Customers can also keep up with newly or soon-to-be discounted albums on popular social networking sites Facebook and MySpace.

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