Amazon launches AutoRip feature for CDs

Amazon has announced the launch of AutoRip, a service that gives customers free MP3 versions of albums that they have previously purchased through Amazon as CDs. This includes albums from the beginning of the Amazon music store back in 1998. While not all albums are eligible, Amazon says that more than 50,000 albums are ready for AutoRip. According to Amazon, the full AutoRip feature list includes:

  • 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.

For anyone that has purchased a lot of CDs through Amazon, this is a nice feature. It's so nice, in fact, that it would be incredibly useful in other parts of the Amazon ecosystem.

Offering free MP4 versions of purchased DVDs and BluRays, though likely something Hollywood would never allow, would be great for customers transitioning away from physical, scratchable media.

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Offering a free Kindle version of every eligible book that a customer has purchased since the beginning of Amazon would also be fantastic. Most customers get their music digitally now, whether though iTunes, Amazon, or services like Spotify and Rdio, but, though their sales are decreasing, physical books remain popular items.

What do you think the odds are of getting publishers on board? Any better than Hollywood? Would getting digital versions of all physical media through a your entire purchase history be something you're interested in?

Source: Amazon