Image via WikipediaIsn't it weird how everyone refers to any music file as an MP3? Like Kleenex, Xerox and Rollerblade it's a recognized brand name. What you probably don't know is that you aren't buying MP3's from iTunes.
You're buying M4P files. They have DRM (Digital Rights Management) so that you can only load it onto Apple devices. That's not a big deal for as long as you own an iPod, but the second someone else makes a better device, you'll be out in the cold on your music library. [There are ways around it, but it's a load of trouble.]
I bring it up because I read some stats claiming that Amazon's music store is a flop because it's just not as easy to use as iTunes so people aren't buying it. I recently bought a bunch of music from Amazon's webstore. It was very easy. On my mac after purchase, Amazon has you install a download manager which automatically imports your songs to the iTunes library. Totally easy, basically one step and the best part is that I'll be able to take my music with me on any device I ever buy without hassle.
The only other piece of advice I can give is to change some of the settings in the Preferences window. Under Advanced, make sure two boxes are checked. First, 'Keep iTunes Music folder organized'. Second, 'Copy Files to iTunes folder when adding to library'. For me, when I download a new song from Amazon or an audiobook from Audible, I just open it with iTunes and it is organized automatically in my folder and in my Library.
The bottom line: it's your music. Make sure you know how to keep it in your control. You don't want to be a victim like you were when they made the switch from cassettes to CDs and were forced to buy the White Album again, do you? [Not that The Beatles are actually available digitally, yet].
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=4fda8857-e0ae-4c36-b930-456494f5d2d8)
