Secrets of the iTunes home page

If you visit the iTunes store on a regular basis, you'll know that the iTunes home page is jam packed with shiny happy banners. These ads highlight just a few dozen of the songs, albums, TV shows, and movies available to iTunes shoppers. And to have a product blessed by front-page placement is practically a guaranteed jump in sales. An album featured on the iTunes home page may sell five times more copies in a week than it will in a month without that promotion according to a recent Wall Street Journal Online article by Nick Wingfield and Ethan Smith. So who gets on the front page and how?

It's not what you'd expect. According to the article, Apple doesn't sell their promotional spots to recording companies outright. Instead, they trade visibility for exclusive song access, discount pricing and access to stars for things like interviews and celebrity playlists. There's a lot of back-room dealing going on with lots of shiny happy money at stake but there's also simple passionate music-love. If Apple's team loves you and loves your music, new unknown musicians can get a huge boost through the iTunes store.

Thanks Mike