I also hate iTunes, man. It sucks that they made it possible to keep the music industry viable by being the only legal place to get mp3s during the Kazaa/P2P days when record companies were going apeshit over the fact that their ridiculously overinflated profits were all being flushed down the drain in exchange for a more realistic price point.

Also, iTunes was all trying to imitate Amazon when, months before Amazon released their service, iTunes began offering DRM free music (known as iTunes Plus) for any mp3 that would offer it.

It’s great that Amazon figured out a DRM-free deal with the music industry who was, due to pressure partly influenced by Apple, heading in that direction anyway for months. Two of the big four labels already announced that they’d no longer push DRM in favor of watermarking music instead, and one of the two remaining labels were looking into it as well.

Innovation in an area as bogged down as the music industry is very difficult, and it sucks that Apple went and made such huge strides in the beginning that allow Amazon to come along and take the process even further. I hate when companies help you out and then don’t do it exactly the way you wanted to!