The big news of Amazon.com's download store has brought out the professional pundits, the analysts who are sought out for quotes and perspective when this kind of news breaks. Some have posted about the news on their blogs.

Here are some of their comments and my comments on their comments.

Jupiter's Mark Mulligan:

"But by launching a service with just indies and EMI Amazon are in the unfamiliar position of offering an incomplete and limited product range…which will take some positioning to their customers. So why not wait until they get the other majors on board? Firstly they don’t think they can anymore. Apple’s inexorable rise shows no sign of diminishing. Secondly, there’s no guarantee they would without Amazon launching now. The other majors need to see EMI’s brave DRM move work Amazon think they have the best chance of showcasing this live beta test and converting the majors."

My thoughts: I think Amazon.com will do just fine -- initially -- with a limited product offering. It will take strong merchandising skills, but the company can do it. The point about ending the wait is a good one. The other majors will need some convincing to drop DRM. With EMI's move, the other three majors can see how the market reacts at iTunes and Amazon.com. Small-scale experiments at select online stores won't offer the same information as will sales of EMI's catalog at the two biggest names in Internet music sales.

Gartner's Mike McGuire:

Amazon.com has "a very good collaborative-filtering/algorithmic recommendation system ('others who bought this book also bought' and 'Amazon recommends') that will provide a significant amount of consumer-taste-sharing and taste-matching that could be particularly compelling to consumers.

Another advantage: They've done a tremendous amount to advance the art and science of creating frictionless online commerce transactions. However, in the end, they have to create a seamless and compelling online music search-recommendation-purchase experience.

At the moment, iTunes is the standard they have to surpass -- not their own online system for book or CD purchases."

My thoughts: Great insight. I don't think iTunes does a great job at "pushing" music. It's a "pull" store. Amazon.com, as McGuire correctly notes, is masterful at recommending music and creating transactions.

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