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Steve invites the Beatles to iTunes
After emerging victorious in the trademark dispute between Apple Computer and Apple Corps, Steve is extending the olive branch to the record label. In a statement made to Macworld, Steve said, "...We have always loved the Beatles, and hopefully we can now work together to get them on the iTunes Music Store...We are glad to put this disagreement behind us."Before you get a warm, fuzzy feeling in your heart, know this: Apple Corps have already issued an appeal. Can't we all just get along?[Via Playlist Mag]
Apple wins legal battle with The Beatles
Wow. As you may know, Apple (the computer company) was sued by Apple Corps (the Beatles' record label) for use of the apple logo and name in conjunction with iTunes, the iTunes Music Store and the iPod. The two groups came to a tentative agreement back in 1991 which stated, briefly, that Apple Computer would not go into the business of creating music. The iTunes Music Store and iPod got Apple Corp's ire up, and they took Apple to court. Today, Mr Justice Edward Mann ruled in Apple's favor:"I conclude that the use of the apple logo ... does not suggest a relevant connection with the creative work. I think that the use of the apple logo is a fair and reasonable use of the mark in connection with the service, which does not go further and unfairly or unreasonably suggest an additional association with the creative works themselves." As a result, the iTunes Music Store and iPod will be able to use the name "Apple." Plus, Apple Corps has to pick up Apple Computer's legal bill, to the tune of £2m. Now that's a sour note. Thanks, Jake!
3 years ago today, 1 million iTunes Music Store downloads
A few days ago we wished the iTunes Music Store a happy third birthday. Ah, three years of downloading and paying for music legally. Whodathunk it?Our friends at Apple Matters let us know that 3 years ago today the Mac only iTunes Music Store hit the million download mark.I'm thinking that this iTunes Music Store might be a hit.
It's official: iTunes tracks will remain $0.99 each
After months of debate (could you imagine being involved in "months of debate" with Steve? No, thanks), Apple and the Big Four record companies have come to a deal that will allow the iTunes Music Store to avoid variable pricing, keeping the cost of a single track to $0.99 (more or less). I'm really glad that Apple's pricing structure came out on top in this. By pricing some tracks below some others, the record companies identify those particular tunes as less "valuable," and therefore less desirable, than others. Keeping the pricing the same across the board allows me to decide which is a "good" track and which isn't my cup of tea.[Via MacDailyNews]
Single of the week turns 2
It seems that it is the week of birthdays for Apple products. First the iTunes Music store celebrates its 3rd birthday, then Tiger turns one, and now the iTunes Single of the Week is 2. How times flies.Apple has set up a special section of the iTunes Music Store to celebrate. It lists some handpicked singles that were previously featured, though now you'll have to shell out some dough to enjoy them.[via MacDevCenter]
Happy Birthday iTMS
Join us in celebrating the third birthday of the iTunes Music Store. That's right -- iTMS was launched three years ago today, April 28, 2003. iTMS may still be a toddler, but its growth has been phenomenal. It's gone in record time from a glint in Steve's eye to the top of the heap among online music stores. Happy Birthday iTMS from TUAW! May there be many more.[via iLounge]
Who needs a record label? Submit your own music to the iTMS with Tunecore
Are you a musician with some tracks that deserve their time in the iTMS spotlight? No one's promising you'll make the Top Songs list, but Tunecore can at least help you take a shot.While Apple offers an online application through which you can ask them to 'consider your music for the iTMS,' Tunecore (notice the hip 'beta' marking) can actually submit your music to not only the iTMS, but Rhapsody, MusicNet and Napster too. They offer what I would consider a reasonable one-time fee structure (meaning: the don't take a % of each song/album sale), and they can add your music to a number of international stores (not just the U.S.) with 'more coming soon!' One last feature to note about their service which might be music to indie musicians' ears: you keep all the rights and ownership of your music, i.e. - Tunecore a middle-man who actually remains a middle-man.This sounds like a great service. I hope more musicians can use it to hop on the digital distribution bandwagon.[thanks Andre Dupont!]
Your home movies in iTunes
You have got to love The Onion. Today, they've got a great parody article up announcing Apple's intention to sell everyone's home movies in the iTunes Music Store for $1.99 each. From the article, "quoting" Steve Jobs:"As soon as you record that precious footage of your daughter's first steps, you'll be able to buy it right back from iTunes and download it directly to your computer and video iPod." Now that's funny. What will they think of next, Macs running Windows?Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Patent infringement lawsuit hits Apple
In a move that screams 'I was waiting for the right time to mention it,' Burst.com yesterday filed a patent counterclaims lawsuit against Apple Computer, claiming that their iTunes, iTMS, iPod and QuickTime Streaming infringe on four of their patents.It appears that this time around Apple actually fired first. Earlier this year, Apple asked the courts to render Burst's patents invalid, which sparked this counterclaim they filed yesterday. Burst has stated that they had hoped to avoid the courts and negotiate a "reasonable license fee," but it seems that a court is exactly where these two companies will need to settle the dispute.Check out Macworld's article if you're interested in more details surrounding the case.
iTunes gift cards from Coinstar machines
You may have seen those Coinstar machines in your local supermarket. Basically, they turn the coins you've collected in your change jar into bills (for a small fee, usually 8.9%). Recently, they've added a few non-cash alternatives for you to choose from, like charitable donations and prepaid gift cards. Most recently, iTunes gift cards have been thrown into the mix. Toss in your coins and out pops a gift card, all ready to go. Sounds like a good "I-need-a-gift-right-now" solution.Unfortunately, none of the machines in my area are currently offering iTunes cards. You can use the official Coinstar Locater to check on your neighborhood.[Via Infinite Loop]
Switch iTMS countries via the command line
I think we can file this one under 'Just because I can.' Erica Sadun has written a perl script that allows you to change your currently selected country in the iTunes Music Store. Both iTunes and Safari have to be open for this script to function.If you aren't a Terminal jockey you can just pop open the iTunes Music Store and choose your country from the pop up menu at the bottom of the main page, but who likes using GUI's anymore?
New in iTunes
It's Tuesday, and that means new content in the iTunes Music Store. Every week we'll highlight some of the additions to the store, picking different genres and styles of music (because covering them all would be one long post) as well as any new television/video programming. Here's just a sample of what has been added to the US store today:Music - Rock Bruce Springsteen pre-order and exclusives. A pre-order of Bruce's new album is available, along with a digital booklet and two videos [link] Queen video album. An iTunes-exclusive collection of music videos from the band Queen. Seven in total for $11.99US [link] Pussycat Dolls. New single featuring Big Snoop Dog. We don't know when he added the "Big." [link] Mercyme pre-order. Place your order for Mercyme's new album and receive a digital booklet, two live tracks and a bonus track [link] Music - Hip Hop/Rap DMX. Exclusive remix album of We In Here (five versions) for $4.95US. [link] LL Cool J. L uses his real name, Todd Smith, on this self-titled (literally) album. The download features a digital booklet [link]. T.I. Both a clean and explicit version are available of the new album King [link]. Music - Free Single of the Week Rock Kills Kid. The free single this week is Hideaway by Rock Kills Kid. Call it teen angst pop [link]. Video - Television South of Nowhere. Ten episodes of season one have been added. No season pass [link]. Wonder Showzen. The season premiere of season two is available. No season pass [link]. Jackass. Volume three is ready to go [link]. The Emperor's New School. Seven episodes of season one have been added [link]. Dora the Explorer. Season two is ready for download (my daughter is very happy about this one) [link]. Law and Order: A season pass is available for season #16 of this show. When will it stop [link]?
iTunes in the sky
How many times have you been on a plane, rocking out on your iPod, when you realize you want to Get Jiggy Wit It. You stare at horror upon your entirely Will Smith devoid iPod and sob quietly in your seat.This may soon be a problem of the past, since Apple is in talks to bring iTunes to an inflight entertainment center near you. Supposedly, the airlines would like it if people could connect to the iTunes Music Store and download songs directly to their iPods from 20,000 feet. How this would work has not been covered, but it would be very cool.Thanks, Gordon Werner.
Apple adds several new TV shows to iTunes
Attention, Law and Order fans: Special Victims Unit [iTunes link] and Criminal Intent [iTunes link] have just received season passes. New to the iTMS today are several Jetix shows [iTunes link], including Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers: Mystic Force and Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go (there's a sentence I couldn't have made up if I tried). There's also a free episode of the Andy Milonakis Show [iTunes link] as well as Little Einsteins for the kiddies [iTunes link].
Win a Red Hot Chili Peppers iPod from iTunes
You may remember the Red Hot Chili Peppers as being among those who were quite opposed to the sale of downloadable music. A couple of weeks ago, I was surprised to see some of their music in the iTunes Music Store. This week, the surprises continue: Not only has some exclusive Peppers music been added, but there's an exclusive Ticketmaster pre-sale going on, an album pre-order, an exclusive video and booklet and a contest giving away the band's entire catalog plus a limited edition Chili Peppers iPod [iTunes link]. Whew. If you're a Chili Peppers fan, check this one out.
The NFL in iTunes?
According to Market Watch, the NFL's internet licensing deal expires in May, and they've gone shopping for a replacement. They're supposedly in talks with several vendors, including Apple. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said that they're "...wide open" to all sorts of possibilities, which probably means they're waiting to see who has the biggest bank account.The college bowl games did well when they were made available in the iTMS earlier this year, and I believe that the CSTV programs [iTunes link] are also popular. So maybe Apple has a chance. I'm certain their pockets are deep enough.[Via Tunevision]
Scrubs, more South Park in iTunes
Season five of NBC's Scrubs has been added to the iTunes music store this morning [iTunes link]. No season pass, however. South Park fans will be glad to know that a season pass is now available for that show [iTunes link], as well as seasons 3 and 10, starting off with the infamous "The Return of Chef!" episode. Have at it.Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Ballmer to his kids: "You don't use Google, you don't use iPods"
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is, let's say, a passionate guy. With Microsoft stagnating while the iTunes Music Store and Google (which is practically synonymous with "search" these days) becoming the standard of what they do, he's got a lot of stress to deal with. How does he manage? When he isn't sweating profusely, he's spending time with his kids...and telling them not to use Google or iPods. In an interview with CNN Money, he was asked if he owns an iPod. He replied: "No, I do not. Nor do my children. My children--in many dimensions they're as poorly behaved as many other children, but at least on this dimension I've got my kids brainwashed: You don't use Google, and you don't use an iPod."Call me crazy, Steve, but telling kids not to do something only makes that "something" more appealing. He also mentioned that Micorsoft intends to make announcements "...within the next 12 months" about their plans for dealing with the iPod. So, Steve's announcement was basically "come back in 12 months for another announcement." Gee, I can't wait.[Via MacDailyNews]
New video content in iTunes
Plug in your iPods, folks, there's new content in the iTunes Music Store. Comedy Central has added David Spade's The Showbiz Show [iTunes Link] and Disney has added Hannah Montana (which is up to 143 reviews already. Wow.), which features one episode and one music video [iTunes link]. New episodes of That's So Raven have also made their way into the store [iTunes link], and rumor has it that the current season of South Park, season 10, will be made available soon.Update: Even more changes! A free episode of Sci Fi's Ghost Hunters is available [iTunes link], as are video highlights from NYC's fashion week [iTunes link]. Plus, season passes are now available for Desperate Housewives and Lost.
Free iTunes Downloads blog
Who doesn't like free stuff? I sure do, and that's why I am subscribing to the Free iTunes Downloads blog. They blog a link to the content that Apple makes available for free on iTunes, from time to time. What's not to love? I get free stuff, and I don't even have to work for it?[via Life Hacker]
