itunes music store
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Should Apple rename the iTunes Music Store?
After I finished my last post I got to thinking (dangerous, I know): the iTunes Music Store name is hopelessly out of date. Let's think for a moment of all the things you can download from the iTMS: Music Music Videos Television Shows Short Films If you include the podcasting section then the list is even longer: PDF's Video podcasts Audio podcasts So, while music is still a large part of the iTunes Music Store it is only a part. I think it is about time (Steve, are you listening?) that Apple rebrand the store. I'm thinking 'the iTunes Media Store,' because that why they wouldn't even need to get new monogrammed towels.Readers, you are all far more clever than I: should Apple change the name of the iTunes Music Store? If so, what should they change it to? Have at it in the comments, I really want to know what folks think.
Wh- What? Metallica in iTunes!
Forget the bluetooth Mighty Mouse, today's huge news is that Metallica's catalog has been added to the iTunes Music Store [iTunes link]. You may remember how vehemently anti-download this band has been since the Napster days. Either the guys have mellowed a bit (isn't that what this movie was about?) or they've seen the dollar signs. Either way, their music is available today.
Microsoft's Zune will target iPod/iTunes
When it comes to producing an iPod killer, Microsoft may finally be putting its (considerable) money where its mouth is. The company announced on Friday that a new line of portable media devices and online service, collectively known as "Zune," will target the iPod and iTunes Music Store. The hard drive-based devices will feature wifi connectivity and an option to purchase music all on their own. Also, it is said that Zune device users in the same hotspot will be able to browse and listen to one another's playlists.We'll see which (if any) of these features actually see the light of day, but it sure sounds interesting.
WWDC rumors: new nanos, iTMS movie rentals?
As if the Apple rumor mill wasn't peppy enough on the off days, things are really getting moving now that their Worldwide Developers Conference is mere weeks away. Some flavor of Mac Pro seems a shoo-in, but Think Secret has some dirt on the iTunes Music Store and iPod nano, which they think are due for some keynote love as well. On the iTunes front, the word is that Steve Jobs will announce movie rentals for the store, with titles coming from Walt Disney, Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and Warner Bros. -- with more on the way. While a significant move, this marks a bit of a defeat for Jobs, who was purportedly going for mirroring music model with a-la-carte movie purchases, instead of having the file expire after a specific time or number of viewings. We're not sure which rental method Apple will go for, but the movie industry types seem pretty smug about their victory in the matter. As for the iPod, Think Secret's insiders are reporting that the second-gen nano is on the way, which should come in 6-8GB capacities, and feature multiple colors, including that metal alloy enclosure we were hearing about. Otherwise, the new nano shouldn't be much of a departure from the current offering. Rumblings of 40GB and 80GB 5G iPods are also making the rounds, with that 6G being delayed into 2007, but Think Secret doesn't expect anything for the WWDC.Read - iTMS movie rentalsRead - Second-gen iPod nano
Engadget Podcast on Apple's 1st Birthday for Podcasting
Speaking of first birthdays, it's already been a whole year since Apple "legitimized" Podcasting and added it as a standard feature to iTunes. Remember how we debuted at number three? How awesome was that? Well, we had to give a little shout, since they listed Peter and I among their pioneers of Podcasting, recognized on their iTunes 4.9's first birthday. Check it out here -- and if you haven't already subscribed to the Engadget Podcast do so here: subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3), or add the Engadget Podcast RSS feed to your aggregator and have the show delivered automatically (MP3).
New TV shows in US iTMS
Several new shows have been added to the US iTunes Music Store, including Blade: The Series (the first offering from the Spike network), TV Land's Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg and Viva La Bam from MTV, the show I'm obviously too old to "get." Check 'em out.
Music/video combos added to iTunes
Apple has added music/video combo deals to the iTunes music store [iTunes link]. A new page has been set up that lets you buy either the song you're after for $0.99US or its accompanying video for $1.99US (as usual), or you can get both for $2.49US.It's not huge news (I'm still waiting for the update that will bring all the Nike stuff), but it's there.
EFF technologist on DRM, Apple's role and the bigger picture
Seth Scoen, an EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) staff technologist, has an interesting blog post in which he analyzes some of the arguments surrounding DRM, Apple's role and how DRM affects the market in more ways than simply locking down content. He also hopes to remind those who have gone astray from the meat of the topic that getting caught up in the Mac vs. PC (and Apple vs. Microsoft) debates in the DRM world only serves to muddy the issue, much like many political debates get too caught up in 'Democrat vs. Republican' rivalry.One of the more important arguments that Seth examines in terms of DRM as a whole and how it affects market competition is that of 'it's the record labels, not Apple who are to blame for the use of DRM'. Seth cites an EFF post from May, 2004 in which their own Fred von Lohmann wrote about his chance to ask the iTMS head lawyer as to whether Apple would stop using DRM if the record labels got really drunk one night lifted their requirement of it. The lawyer reportedly answered "no", which prompted Seth to remind us that DRM clearly isn't just about protecting content - it's also about protecting profitable and closed products like iTunes + iPod, and, perhaps even more importantly, Apple isn't the only one trying to do this.Seth's post offers some interesting perspective on these DRM arguments, and it refreshingly delves deeper than the "Apple's solution is terrible which means you should use Microsoft's" banter. Check it out.[via BoingBoing]
Sweden jumps on anti-iTMS DRM bandwagon
It sounds like those DefectiveByDesign guys were simply in the wrong place, but at the right time: Sweden has joined forces with Denmark and Norway to add fuel to the fire of pressuring Apple into opening up its FairPlay iTMS DRM system. A quote from a Swedish Consumer Agency spokeswoman dubs the iTMS ToS flat-out "illegal", and all three countries are threatening to take the case to their respective market courts.DRM debates aside (which have been raging here over the last couple of posts), my money is on some music industry lobbyists making all this go away, as we saw when France tried this.[via Engadget]
Survivor, other CBS shows in iTunes (US)
As you may remember, CBS's president of digital media Larry Kramer announced back in February his network's intention to sell downloadable episodes of Survivor - without iTunes. For $1.99US, you got a single episode that expired in 24 hours. He stated that CBS would be moving gradually into this new media frontier.Today, they've taken what I think is a nice step forward. Survivor, Numb3rs and all three CSI's are now in the US iTunes Music Store [iTunes link]. Welcome to the party, CBS!
Star Wars: Clone Wars in iTunes
Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series has been added to the US iTunes Music Store [iTunes link]. I haven't seen it, but as an admitted Star Wars geek I know I should.It's priced at the usual $1.99US per episode, which seems rather odd as most of them are around four minutes long. Still, season 1 is available. Go and get it, Star Wars geeks.
NBC News in iTunes
Several NBC News programs have shown up in the US iTunes Music Store this morning [iTunes link], including: Various specials NBC Time Capsule (a look at classic broadcasts of historical events) Tom Brokaw Reports Crime & Punishments Meet the Presidents with Tim Russert So go and get your fix, news junkies.
iTMS does storefront customization for radio websites
Two hip-hop radio stations, Power 106 in LA and HOT 97 in NYC, have signed on the dotted line with the iTMS to offer an integrated, customized version of the store right in their own websites. The radio stations can design the store any way they see fit, and feature any artists, recent releases and playlists they want. From some quick browsing, I was able to find the iTMS integration at HOT 97's site, but not at Power 106's.hypebot, the blog where we found this, was quick to point out the vast potential this kind of partnership with the iTMS has for any kind of niche markets, businesses and organizations you can think of: "From skateboard sites selling radical tunes to a museum's site selling period music that matches their exhibitions, this could be a very exciting development for niche and indie music marketers". Indeed, this is a great example of that iPod expansion post Scott had yesterday; it sounds like Apple has plenty of tricks up their sleeve for the iPod and iTMS.
iTunes 6.0.5 "available soon"
According to Apple, iTunes 6.0.5 will be "...available soon" (check the lower right hand corner of that page). It looks like the main feature will be the new Nike section, which will feature "...Nike-generated content," including music and specifically timed workout mixes, as well as video and audio podcasts with top athletes.Apple seems to be going all-out with the Nike collaboration. I suspect we'll see TV ads in the next month or so.Thanks, Ruben!
iTMS introduces "New Rock Revealed" weekly band explorations
The iTMS has introduced an intriguing new service called "New Rock Revealed", where one band's music will be dissected each week to find who their roots and inspirations were, as well as similar sounds you can find today. This first week looks at Pearl Jam's new album (which rocks, by the way), and lists its tracks in the middle of the chart. On the left side is a list of "Roots & Influences", where songs from bands that inspired Pearl Jam are listed, track by track, matching up to the Pearl Jam songs where their influences can be heard. On the right side is the "Similar Sounds" list of bands who clearly were inspired by Pearl Jam. Each of the two lists (Roots & Influences and Similar Sounds) are available as mixes ready for purchase, priced at just over $12 apiece. I would imagine that price will fluctuate, depending on the length of the album New Rock Revealed dissects each week.This is a really cool idea, though I wish the iTMS could produce some more information along the lines of truly exploring a band's roots. I'd love to be able to read a little more into what exactly inspired Pearl Jam; where they got their sound, how they started out as a band living out of their broken-down tour bus and eating stale bread three times a day until they got their big break. With that said, I'm excited to see the iTMS whipping out clever new services like this to get people more interested in music, where it came from and where it's going.
Discovery Channel added to US iTMS
Today, the Discovery Channel has added a slew of shows to the iTunes Music Store, including the great Mythbusters [iTunes link], plus shows from Discovery Health [iTunes link], Discovery Kids [iTunes link] and The Travel Channel [iTunes link]. I'm glad about it, as most of the shows I watch are on cable.
Widget Watch: Album Art Widget
When I first saw Liquidx's Album Art Widget, I thought, "I don't want to have to jump to the Dashboard just to view album art." However, this widget does much more than that.It does display the album art of the currently playing track, and will retrieve artwork for songs that don't have any (adding this found artwork to iTunes is easy). You can also change the ratings of songs, flip the widget over to view a list of other songs on the currently selected album and use it to control iTunes. Lastly, it will let you jump to the current song's home in iTunes or Amazon.
Apple actively courting the Beatles
With the lawsuit behind them, Apple is actively trying to get Beatles music added to the iTunes Music Store. According to an article at Bloomberg, Apple Corps is currently remastering the Beatles' entire catalog, in preparation for electronic distribution. However, a vendor has not yet been named. Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes, hopes they'll look towards the iTMS:"We certainly will do everything we can to get them on iTunes. The Beatles aren't available in any digital format today but they are going to be one day. We certainly hope that happens on iTunes." Is there too much animosity between the two giants, or can they let bygones be bygones? Time will tell. All I know is that my iPod is just begging for the White Album.[Via MacDailyNews]
iTunes Chili Peppers promo angers some fans
Ok, everyone just settle down. A couple of weeks ago, the iTunes Music Store offered a deal to fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Pre-order the new album [iTunes link], and receive a special code that would grant you access to a special Ticketmaster pre-sale for the upcoming tour. The codes were scheduled to be distributed yesterday, May 9 (tickets go on sale to the general public on the 13th), but so far many customers haven't heard a peep from Apple. Call me an optimist, but I'm sure everything will be OK. I know it stinks on ice when it seems you aren't getting what you've been promised, but you've still got three days before John Q. Public can get his mitts on your tickets. Patience, grasshopper.Of course, if the 13th comes and goes and leaves you ticket-less, then all bets are off.Thanks, Adam.
Finally, Fox in the iTunes Music Store
I woke up this morning to find that Fox and FX shows have been added to the iTunes Music Store [iTunes link]. On the Fox side, 24, Prison Break, Unan1mous, Stacked and some classic shows like Buffy and Firefly have been added. FX [iTunes link] brings The Shield, Black/White, 30 Days and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia to the store.Conspicuous in their absence: The Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad. I'm hoping that it's just a matter of time before these shows make their iTMS debut. Also new to the store this morning: Inside the NBA [iTunes link] and First Hand [iTunes link].
