Amazon has launched AutoRip, a service that gives customers free MP3 versions of CDs they've purchased anytime since 1998.

Even better, customers who purchase a new CD will receive their digital copy before the actual, physical CD arrives at their doorstep."What would you say if you bought music CDs from a company 15 years ago, and then 15 years later that company licensed the rights from the record companies to give you the MP3 versions of those CDs ... and then to top it off, did that for you automatically and for free? Well, starting today, it's available to all of our customers -- past, present, and future -- at no cost," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO.

AutoRip currently has some 50,000 albums in its database, with more on the way. The quality of the ripped MP3 CDs is 256 Kbps.Users will be able to play their music through a web-based player as well as any Cloud Player compatible device, including Android and iOS devices, Kindle Fire, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs and Sonos.The service is now live, and users should be able to see a notification in their Cloud Player that AutoRip is operational.