Amazon Music Downloads

Amazon Music Downloads Categories

Amazon visitors will find MP3 downloads in the following categories:

• Alternative Rock
• Blues
• Broadway and Vocalists
• Children's Music
• Christian and Gospel
• Classic Rock
• Classical
• Country
• Dance and DJ
• Folk
• Hard Rock and Metal
• International
• Jazz
• Latin Music
• Miscellaneous
• New Age
• Opera and Vocal
• Pop
• R&B
• Rap and Hip-Hop
• Rock
• Soundtracks

If you're interested in downloading the songs currently topping the charts, the main page of each category page includes a list of the top MP3 songs and top MP3 albums. For customers looking for other recommendations, these pages also list featured songs and artists. The new and future releases page shows you the latest songs and albums across all genres.

Download Information and Tips

Selection

Music is made available for download as recording companies and artists allow it. This is why some songs are only available as part of a full album download and others aren't included in the catalog at all. Look for more artists and songs as the service develops. Sign up for the Amazon MP3 download newsletter to stay on top of the full selection.

Files

All songs are offered in MP3 format, playable in iTunes, Windows Media Player, and any MP3-capable music player. Amazon music downloads are free of digital rights management, commonly referred to as DRM. This means once you download an MP3 from Amazon, there are no restrictions on its use. You can play it on another computer, transfer it to a portable MP3 player, or burn it to a CD. However, your download is meant for your personal use, and it should not be shared with other music listeners.

Songs are encoded at 256 kbps to produce maximum quality while maintaining a manageable file size. Amazon claims that the average song is around 5 MB in size and will take less than a minute to download with a high-speed connection. It may take up to 30 minutes to acquire this same song with a dial-up connection. Downloading the Amazon MP3 Downloader to your computer will make future song purchases easier, and you are required to use the program to download full albums.

Buying Songs

Most individual songs are sold for 89 or 99 cents, depending on popularity, although there are also a few free music downloads. Most albums range in price from $5.99 to $9.99. Album downloads are typically cheaper than the Amazon purchase price for the CD, even before you consider the fact there are no shipping costs involved, and you can start enjoying your music almost immediately. For the budget-minded music shopper, the site offers links to albums divided by cost, from $4.99 and under to $9 and above.

You can try each song before you buy it with the 30-second song sample feature. Just click the arrow button next to the song title to hear a bit of that song, or click on "preview all" to hear samples from all the songs in an album or artist list. Unlike other Amazon purchases, downloads are not returnable. Customers are also only allowed one download per purchase. If you experience trouble during the download process, you should contact customer service for assistance. However, if you lose a downloaded file due to computer errors or accidental deletion, you will have to buy a new copy of the song.