Amazon AutoRip Now Supports Vinyl Records

Amazon launched its AutoRip service back in January, allowing you to get a free MP3 version of a music CD that you bought from Amazon, going back as far as 1998 with the purchase history. Now, the e-tail giant is offering vinyl record owners the same deal. If you've ever bought a vinyl record on Amazon in the past, the company will give you a free MP3 version for your digital needs.

Just like with CDs, the offer applies to vinyls that you've bought from the website since 1998 (how many people were really using the internet to buy vinyl records back then?), and any customers who purchases a vinyl record that is eligible for an AutoRip MP3 version in the future will receive a digital copy that will be automatically added to the user's Cloud Player library.

Just like with CDs, AutoRip only supports a certain number of vinyl records. In other words, it only goes as high as Amazon's current catalog of MP3 music that they have available. The company currently boasts 50,000 tracks and counting that are eligible on Amazon's AutoRip, all of which come with 256kbps quality.

Sales of vinyl records have been making a comeback as of late. They were obviously a popular format back in the 1970s, but many audiophiles argue that vinyl records offer a better quality sound than CDs and even high-bitrate MP3s, thus marking the rise in popularity. Many modern musicians and bands still release their albums in vinyl record format to this day.