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Amazon.co.uk MP3 downloads for Windows, Mac and Linux

11 January 2009

This is an important update to my earlier post: MP3 Downloads - Is this the end of DRM on Music? - MP3 downloads from Amazon.co.uk.

If you have the 32 bit versions of Windows / MacOS / Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, Suse or Debian) then you can go straight to the:

If you are running the 64 bit version, particularly Linux then read on ...

I tried the advice to use getlib to allow the Amazon.co.uk MP3 downloader to install the required libraries. Although this appeared to work it turns out that the libraries are not compatible with the way that the downloader is compiled:

$ /usr/bin/amazonmp3
/usr/lib/gio/modules/libgioremote-volume-monitor.so: wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS64
Failed to load module: /usr/lib/gio/modules/libgioremote-volume-monitor.so
/usr/lib/gio/modules/libgiogconf.so: wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS64
Failed to load module: /usr/lib/gio/modules/libgiogconf.so
/usr/lib/gio/modules/libgvfsdbus.so: wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS64
Failed to load module: /usr/lib/gio/modules/libgvfsdbus.so

The downloader launches, but is then unable to connect and download the files. It looks like us 64 bit users will have to wait until Amazon releases a new downloader.

In the meantime - if you have a failed download then here is a fix.

Find or redownload the AmazonMP3.amz file (it should be in your firefox or other browser download history). Copy this to a 32bit version of linux (use a liveCD / Usb / dual boot / alternative machine). Run /usr/bin/amazonmp3 and load the file into there (you may have to download the downloader if you havent' already. The downloads will now start on that machine. You can then copy the files to your usual computer.
Not ideal, hopefully Amazon.co.uk will fix this soon.

It's still worth pursuing. Much better than getting DRM limited files that won't run on windows at all.

I do not know if the 64bit version of Windows Vista has the same problems as I only run the 32 bit versions of Windows XP / Windows Vista due to driver / incompatibility problems.

I have successfully downloaded the following MP3 albums using Linux - Ubuntu 8.10 i386