The site, which the internet retailer hopes to launch next month, will sell digital downloads in the MP3 format, which is less restrictive than Apple's format.
It is understood that Amazon has approaching all major music companies with the plans over the past fortnight.
If successful, the launch will be controversial, because the MP3 format allows music to be copied more easily.
Amazon planed to launch a MP3 player originally to tie in with the creation of the download site. However, talks with manufacturers were unsuccessful.
According to the International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an estimated US$2 billion (£998.4 million) worth of music online or through mobile phones was sold in 2006 (trade revenues). This is double the previous year and accounts for about 10 per cent of the music market.Apple's share of the market stands at about 80 per cent.
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