Amazon.com new cloud service is kick at iTunes – they will match every CD bought since 1998

The game of one-upmanship got a little sweeter for customers at Amazon.com.

Buy their CD of your favorite music and get the MP3 download instantly and stored on the cloud for free.

You can stream the Cloud Player library to Kindle, of course, Android and iPhone, iPad and a slew of other audio players but not Windows Phone, yet. 

“What would you say if you bought music CDs from a company 15 years ago, and then 15 years later that company licensed the rights from the record companies to give you the MP3 versions of those CDs… and then to top it off, did that for you automatically and for free?” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO.

“Well, starting today, it’s available to all of our customers – past, present, and future – at no cost. We love these opportunities to do something unexpected for our customers.”

AutoRip features include:

• “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.”

The AutoRip service is limited to the United States which is how Amazon.com sells digital music.

For more details, check out the AutoRip site. They have some quick videos on how it works.

For the fine print check out this page.