Amazon MP3 Files Don’t Contain User-Identifying Metadata

The Associated Press:

Bill Carr, Amazon’s vice president for digital music, said it will be up to customers to use the music they buy legally.

To help stop music piracy, Carr said some record labels add a digital watermark to MP3 files that indicate what company sold the song, and Amazon adds its own name and the item number of the song, for customer service purposes. He added that no details about the buyer or the transaction are added to the downloaded music file.

Apple’s DRM-free iTunes Plus files contain your name and email address (well, your iTunes user account ID, which is generally an email address).

★ Tuesday, 25 September 2007