Amazon Returns Ability to Check out Samples on a Release's MP3 Page

Reinstating what I've always regarded as a valuable feature when I wanted to sample something to see if I might want to buy the CD, Amazon is starting to return the ability to check out 30-second samples if the CD also has an MP3 or streaming page. For a few months, they've had it so you were required to sign up for an Amazon Music Library in order to hear samples (and have access to thousands of downloadable songs). Even Prime members would have to pay this extra charge. I'm guessing the reaction wasn't great.

Also, on some but not yet all releases, they've returned the listing of the song titles on a release page. Again for this same period, no releases new or old had any song titles listed except on the MP3 page — if that title was available as an MP3 download, although you still couldn't sample them unless you signed up for the service — but doing a random search of a few titles, some now have them again, others don't.

Smart move and glad it's back; I have made a lot of buying decisions — oh yes or ... absolutely not! — based on being to check out samples of songs, usually of an artist I've heard about but am not familiar with.

 

Yes, this is good news - I wasn't aware they were actually "holding the feature hostage" with signing-up for an extra service as a prerequisite. Even sneaker than I was led to believe originally.

That would be kind of like, a grocery store charging "rental" on a cart on your way out, if you don't buy a certain amount of their own store-brand products.