autorip

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  • Amazon vinyl sales up 745 percent since 2008, 8-track mulling comeback

    by 
    Brian Heater
    Brian Heater
    09.16.2013

    This surely marks a faint glimmer of hope for all the beaten-down and forgotten formats out there. Granted, the vinyl record has been out of fashion recently but still, a 745 percent increase in Amazon sales marks some pretty impressive growth. So, why the bump? A retro explosion? A new-found appreciation for fidelity in this world of streaming compression? The answer's likely a little bit of both. Also, don't underestimate the power of Amazon's AutoRip feature. See, vinyl's not only the fastest growing music medium on Amazon, it's also the most popular format for AutoRip, which entitles buyers to MP3 versions of physical albums they buy. Obviously, though, it's a bit tougher for most music lovers to rip vinyl than, say, a CD. So, which records are selling best? As of the weekend, the top vinyl titles include albums by the Death Grips, Amy Winehouse and Arcade Fire. Daft Punk, Nirvana and Paul McCartney managed to make their way into the top ten, as well. Those who prefer their information served up in a handy graphical format should click through to the source link below.

  • Amazon AutoRip arrives in the UK, offers free MP3 versions for over 350,000 CDs

    by 
    Mat Smith
    Mat Smith
    06.27.2013

    American Amazon shoppers have been offered free MP3 versions of their back catalog of music purchases since January and now Brits are getting the same deal, with vinyl tracks thrown in for good measure. Any CDs or vinyl (and even cassettes!) bought since 1999 will now be added to Amazon UK account owners' Cloud Player, free and automatically. There are now More than 350,000 albums that are already AutoRip-compatible, and Amazon's own music player ensures you should be able to play the 256 Kbps MP3 tracks on practically any device that can browse the web. The full release is right after the break.

  • Amazon's AutoRip now includes vinyl

    by 
    Brian Heater
    Brian Heater
    04.03.2013

    For about as long as we can remember, each new CD we've purchased has made a trip to our computer for a good, old fashioned ripping, first thing out of the plastic. So the concept of offering up free MP3s with the purchase of a compact disc always felt a bit superfluous (particularly in these days when fewer and fewer are buying music in a physical form). The increasingly popular concept of offering up downloads with the purchase of a vinyl LP, on the other hand, makes an awful lot of sense -- after all, it's a lot harder for most of us to transfer that music onto our PCs. Amazon's embracing the concept by extending its AutoRip promotion to records, giving consumers a 256 Kbps cloud-based copy of the music they buy on vinyl. The promotion extends to thousands of titles -- anything sporting the AutoRip logo is fair game, including a number of top sellers like Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers. It's a nice way of supporting the growing boutique vinyl industry and helping keep a bit of focus on the album as self-contained work, rather than the move toward singles we've been experiencing as a result of the digital music explosion of the past several years.

  • Amazon announces AutoRip, gives users free MP3s of CDs they've bought

    by 
    Michael Grothaus
    Michael Grothaus
    01.10.2013

    The battle for digital music -- and cloud-based music solutions -- continues. Amazon has announced Amazon AutoRip, a service that gives anyone who has purchased eligible CDs from them since 1998 a free digital copy of that CD. From Amazon's press release announcing the new service: AutoRip features include: Free digital copies: Amazon customers who purchase AutoRip CDs get free MP3 versions of the albums delivered directly to their Cloud Player libraries -- automatically, immediately, and at no cost -- no more hassling with ripping CDs and finding a way to get them onto your favorite devices. For CD purchases dating back to 1998: MP3 versions of AutoRip CDs that customers have purchased since the launch of Amazon's music store in 1998 will also be delivered to their Cloud Player libraries for free. Enjoy everywhere: Music can be played instantly from any Kindle Fire, Android phone or tablet, iPhone, iPod touch, Samsung TVs, Roku, Sonos and any web browser, giving customers the freedom to enjoy music from more devices than any other major cloud locker music service. Free storage and backup: All AutoRip MP3s are stored for free in customers' Cloud Player libraries and do not count against Cloud Player storage limits. Customers can buy music and know that it is safely stored in Cloud Player and accessible from any compatible device. High-quality audio: AutoRip music is provided in high-quality 256 Kbps MP3 audio. Since all AutoRip tracks are unprotected MP3s, they'll easily import to iTunes and play on iPhones, iPads and iPods. I've just used the service and was notified that I have 19 CDs I purchased between 1999 and 2003 waiting for me as a free download (I stopped buying CDs in 2003 with the advent of the iTunes Music Store). That's pretty cool. Now, if Amazon does the same for past and future DVD purchases, I could see this as potentially being a huge threat to iTunes' media sales.

  • Amazon AutoRip deal gives a free MP3 version of any CD purchase made since 1998

    by 
    Mat Smith
    Mat Smith
    01.10.2013

    Amazon launched a new service that will start offering a free MP3 album of any CD you buy from them. Better still, you'll get versions of any album you've purchased in the last 15 years. The service will link to over 50,000 albums (with more incoming) and you'll be able to grab said digital copy before your new CD even arrives. You'll be able to play tracks on any Cloud Player compatible devices, including the Kindle Fire, Android devices, iOS devices, Roku, Sonos and Samsung Smart TVS, as well as the web-based player. It's already been activated and, better still, our previous music purchases are already on the Cloud Player ready to go -- no confirmation needed. We did note however, that some of our more obscure albums didn't transfer in full -- in some cases only half the tracks made the transition.