[StratocasterMan]

Amazon has unveiled a new service where if you buy one of 50,000 popular CDs from them, they provide an "auto-ripped" MP3 version on their servers. Apparently, this also applies to CDs you bought from them in the past.
 
I guess this might come in handy while you're waiting for your CD to arrive, if you don't feel like ripping it yourself, or if you need a quick lossy copy for a portable device.
 
Anyway, just in case anyone's interested in reading about it:
 
http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/amazon-autorip-gives-free-digital-music-copy-cd-buyers-1B7915781

 

[Rip N' Burn]

I wonder which mp3 encoder they use? Seems like the mp3's are 256 kbps cbr. I would rather rip the cd's myself with the latest lame encoder but for most people I think 256 kbps would suffice.

 

[StratocasterMan]

The vast majority of Amazon's MP3s are 256 Kbps VBR and they use the LAME 3.97 encoder.

 

[MarkyB16]

I like that this will make it possible to listen to a lot of my music at work if my iPod battery dies. A 256kbps bit rate isn't high enough quality to interest me personally in downloading any music although I'm sure it will suffice for 90+% of Amazon's customers. 

 

[StratocasterMan]

I noticed today in my Amazon Cloud Player that some stuff showed up from a CD I bought from them years ago, probably in 2005. That CD is in my storage space 1,000 miles away and I had forgotten that I even bought that CD from Amazon.
 
Since I don't have access to that CD right now, I was able to download 256 Kbps VBR MP3 files of that music. 256 Kbps VBR MP3 isn't bad at all. It's not ideal for critical listening on the very best gear, but it's not bad either.
 
It was like having the music I already own delivered back to me from 1,000 miles away, and that's pretty cool. 

 

[Dutchi MerenGue]

i just checked my account and caught them midway of uploading about half of an el-p album i bought like 4 years ago lol, i cant wait for them to get my entire collection up, theres alot of cd's i bought from them since 2005 that i dont have anymore or have inferior quality tracks to them

 

[weirddub]

Its bummer that iTunes and Amazon don't sell WAV versions of their music catalogue.

 

[liogarus]

Quote:

Its bummer that iTunes and Amazon don't sell WAV versions of their music catalogue.

You can still convert from AppleLossless to FLAC or WAV.

 

[StratocasterMan]

Quote:

i just checked my account and caught them midway of uploading about half of an el-p album i bought like 4 years ago lol, i cant wait for them to get my entire collection up, theres alot of cd's i bought from them since 2005 that i dont have anymore or have inferior quality tracks to them

 
Yeah, this is really cool. There are a bunch of CDs I bought from Amazon in 2005 or earlier that I don't have access to right now because they are in storage far away. I didn't rip them before I put them in storage. Now they are showing up in my Cloud Player so I am able to download that music even it it's just MP3s. Someday I'll get those CDs out of storage, but for now, this is awesome. 

 

[StratocasterMan]

I'm also thinking.... I know I bought CDs from Amazon that I had shipped to other people as gifts. I wonder if files from those CDs are going to show up in my Cloud Player since I bought them? 

 
I have not researched this yet, so I don't know...

 

[batphink]

From ArsTechnica:
 
 

Buy a CD from Amazon after 1998? Check Amazon Cloud Player for MP3 tracks

The goal is to get more people to use Cloud Player and buy more CDs.

by Jacqui Cheng - Jan 10 2013, 10:15am CST



If you've bought a popular music CD (you know, those plastic discs with music on them?) from Amazon over the last 15 years, you may now be able to download those MP3s for free via your Amazon Cloud Player. Amazon announced its new service called "AutoRip" on Thursday morning, allowing customers who buy AutoRip-compatible CDs to automatically receive free digital copies of their music. The policy not only applies to CD purchases since 1998—it applies to any AutoRip-compatible CD you buy from this point forward.

The MP3s come in 256Kbps form and are currently available for more than 50,000 of the most popular albums since 1998, "including titles from every major record label," says Amazon. The downside is that it may be difficult to find AutoRipped MP3s for indie titles, though a quick search by Ars revealed that several indie CDs (purchased in 2000) were indeed available via AutoRip. AutoRip-compatible albums are automatically uploaded to your Cloud Player library and don't count against the Cloud Player storage limits.

It's clear the goal of AutoRip is to push more users to take advantage of its Cloud Player service, inaddition to pushing them to buy more physical CDs. The move undoubtedly allows Amazon and the record industry to double dip when it comes to sales and download numbers, but it's hard to deny the convenience to customers as well. Cloud Player libraries can be played on any device that Amazon supports—including iPhones and iPads—as well as the Web, or they can be downloaded and transferred to any MP3 player.

It's also clear Amazon is making this announcement to take a shot at Apple. "In many cases, customers can buy an AutoRip CD, including the free digital copy, for less than they would pay for only the digital album at iTunes," the company said in a statement. Indeed, Amazon, but then I would have to store all those CDs somewhere, wouldn't I?

 

[daigo]

Only some of my CD purchases from Amazon over the years were uploaded.  Some of my older albums that I've picked up weren't included in this initial push.  Also, without the paid account, you have an upper limit of how many songs you can have on your cloud player account (even though I have a Prime account). 

 

[cel4145]

I'm also thinking.... I know I bought CDs from Amazon that I had shipped to other people as gifts. I wonder if files from those CDs are going to show up in my Cloud Player since I bought them? 

I have not researched this yet, so I don't know...

I read somewhere that it excludes gift purchases.

However, I was thinking that there are people who want the mp3 album that might order the CD album, not open it, and sell the CD on ebay. Could recoup part of the mp3 album cost. I wonder it'll take Amazon and the music industry to figure out that is going on (lol).