What initially appeared to be a marketing coup for Amazon’s music sales and the launch of its Cloud Player service now appears to have blown up in the company’s face. Initially, the music world was agape to learn that Lady Gaga’s much anticipated second album was for sale on Amazon for the ultra low price of $0.99 cents, compared to $11.99 on iTunes. The loss leading price was thought to be a means of promoting Amazon’s new Cloud Player service and left many initially impressed with the strategy. However, it’s rock n’ roll in dispersed with technology and sure enough, things went tits up. In essence Amazon couldn’t handle the traffic, ensuring that downloads of the album were delayed, leaving fans unable to acquire the whole album after purchase.
Amazon issued a statement saying “Amazon is experiencing high volume and downloads are delayed. If customers order today, they will get the full Lady Gaga, Born This Way album for $0.99. Thanks for your patience.” However, the damage may have been done because fans are already giving the album one star reviews as a protest against the album download difficulties. It’s also likely to affect the take up of Amazon’s Cloud Player service, as punters go running back to iTunes where they may pay more for their music, but they’re guaranteed to be able to download it and store it.
