Amazon brings AutoRip, a service that offers digital copies of purchased CDs and vinyl, to the UK

Six months after the launch of AutoRip in the US early this year, a service that gives consumers free MP3 versions of every CD they buy from Amazon, the online retailer is bringing the service to the UK.

UK-based Amazon customers will now get access to digital copies of their CDs from as far back as 1999  – AutoRip albums purchased since the Music Store first opened in the UK will be automatically added to your Cloud Player account for free. Of course, the service also applies to any records bought in the future.

Amazon says that currently more than 350,000 albums are available for AutoRip, with more titles being added continuously.

Two months ago, Amazon added vinyl records to its AutoRip service, automating the entire process of copying vinyl records into a digital format, with a caveat that only records with the AutoRip logo are applicable for the service. Back then, Amazon said that “thousands” of vinyl records across every major label would be supported, and noted there would be new releases being added all the time.

AutoRip music can be played from any Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire, Android phone or tablet, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, as well as any Web browser. In a bid to reduce Apple’s hold on over-device music sales, Amazon this year launched its HTML5 MP3 Web store specifically for iPhone and iPod touch, offering 22 million tracks via a specially formatted mobile website.

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