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Amazon's Music Store Opens With 2.3 Million Songs

Amazon.com jumped into the digital music download business Tuesday by offering 2.3 million songs that can play on any portable device and--in typical Amazon fashion--more than 1 million of the tracks are being sold at a dime less than tracks at Apple's iTunes store. Amazon's catalog is about one-third of Apple's.

The service--called Amazon MP3--includes more than 180,000 artists from more than 20,000 labels. The music is being sold without digital rights management software, allowing consumers to listen to downloads on any device they choose, including personal computers, Zunes, Zens, iPods, iPhones, RAZRs and BlackBerrys.

Major music labels Universal Music Group and EMI Music have signed on to sell their tracks on Amazon, as have thousands of independent labels. But Warner Music Group and Sony BMG Music Entertainment have not agreed to sell music on Amazon MP3. Richard Doherty, research director for Envisioneering Group in New York, says he doesn't see Amazon dethroning Apple, but the new service will cut into Apple's business.

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