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Amazon is gung-ho for digital music giveaway
MUMBAI: Online retailer Amazon has stepped up the battle for music sales by announcing it will give away digital versions when customers buy CDs and vinyl records – and they will be backdated for any past purchases.
The free MP3 service, called AutoRip, will enable music fans to have instant access to music they have bought – several days before their purchases arrive in the post.
The company has already lined up in excess of 350,000 albums for AutoRip with more to be added, and said there will be no knock-on effect on prices.
Tracks will be added to their AmazonCloud Player account and can be either streamed or downloaded to devices such as iPhones, iPads, Kindles and smartphones.
AutoRip – which gives consumers their purchases in two formats – will be seen as a new weapon in the fight for dominance in the music sector against rivals such as iTunes which specialises in only digital versions.
The Amazon site will show whether AutoRip versions are available when consumers check out information about potential purchases, although it will not work if items were bought as gifts for other people. And it does not apply to items bought from private sellers in the Amazon Marketplace – only those bought directly from Amazon.
Latest figures for the UK market show Amazon became the leading music retailer in 2012, accounting for 25.6 per cent of expenditure (15.3 per cent for home delivery and 10.3 per cent downloads) and taking over from troubled HMV, which had been in front the previous year.
But iTunes is way out in front for digital sales, and represents 22.5 per cent of the entire music market – up from 17.9 per cent the previous year – according to data from Kantar Worldpanel, which is used by the British Phonographic Industry. Both companies will be keen to push up their share, particularly after HMV went into administration earlier this year and is now operating on a smaller scale after formerly being the market leader for physical sales.
Amazon‘s AutoRip will be backdated to purchases of CDs, vinyl or cassettes since its music store was established in 1999, if a digital version is available.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
