Online Music

I’m very curious about amazon.com’s announcement that they’re developing an online music store a la the iTunes Music Store. Does this mean amazon will also offer a proprietary MP3 Player (as Apple’s done with iTunes and the iPod) to work with their online music store creating a possible iPod killer?

One key difference is that amazon will rent the music via a monthly subscription fee. I have yet to buy from the iTunes Music Store, but I know I’m an acquirer. I like to own the music and am not interested in merely renting it. Amazon’s model will follow Yahoo!’s subscription service except that Yahoo! doesn’t lock you into a specific MP3 player. Does this sound enticing to you?

Speaking of online music sales, I was surprised to learn that the folks who give out the Grammys do not recognize online music sales in qualifying artists for a Grammy, which leads me to wonder how much longer it will take them to count online sales? With the media reporting the demise of the physical compact disc imminent and Apple tooting its horn for online music sales, I'm shocked that this hasn't happened.