In the wake of media giants like Warner Music, and NBC leaving iTunes for greener pastures, it looks like Amazon is just about ready to make it's big debut on the online music sales scene later this month.  It's expected that the initial catalog of songs will be over 1 million and include tracks from Universal Music Group, EMI and a number of independent labels.  Sony BMG and Warner Music Group are not expected to be a part of the initial offering.

Word is that Amazon is pushing record labels to allow songs to be sold DRM-free, and for prices even lower than iTunes, which has some publishers a bit anxious.  Whether or not this new service will be a real challenge to Apple's iTunes service remains to be seen.

In the end though, competition in the space can only be good for the consumer.