Apple has made some minor changes to the iTunes Store, expanding its Indie Spotlight banners into a full section, and adding a My iTunes link to its music pages. Formerly used in banners for spotlighting indie bands and albums on the iTunes Store’s front page, the Indie Spotlight moniker is now being used as the name for a new section of the iTunes Store. The section features links to an Indie Spotlight podcast, other indie podcasts, videos, label samplers, and a variety of albums and artists. It’s worth noting that the traditional Top Songs and Top Albums listings are absent from the page, which features three main sections—“New and Noteworthy,” “On the Road,” and “Heavy Rotation.” In addition, Apple has added a new My iTunes link to music-focused pages in the iTunes Store.
Posts Tagged ‘itunes’
Apple Tweaks iTunes Store With Indie Spotlight Section
Saturday, February 28th, 2009Apple Launches iTunes Pass Subscription Content
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009Apple has a new feature on iTunes called “iTunes Pass.” Basically you buy this pass for a certain artist or group and you’ll automatically receive anything new that they release into the iTunes store during a set period of time.
iTunes Pass media can include songs, albums, music videos, and more, all delivered in DRM-free iTunes Plus format, some of which may be exclusive to the Pass. In addition, customers will be emailed when new Pass content is available, and will also receive a final email once all content associated with a Pass has been delivered.
Apple is kicking off the program in conjunction with Depeche Mode’s upcoming album “Sounds of the Universe” For $18.99 the cost of the Depeche Mode iTunes Pass customers will be able to download the band’s new single “Wrong” and an exclusive remix of “Oh Well” in advance before gaining access to the full album and bonus tracks when they’re released on April 21.
Apple Prepping iTunes Replay On-Demand Video Service
Thursday, February 12th, 2009Apple is believed to be wrapping up a new feature in iTunes 8 that will allow users to stream their iTunes video purchases directly from the company’s servers for playback anywhere, anytime without eating up local storage.
Dubbed iTunes Replay, the service would allow iTunes shoppers to build out their digital video collection without worrying about the space needed to store the often hefty media files. It’s unclear whether Apple plans to charge for the service, which is said to support both iTunes Movie and TV show purchases.
One of the main complaints users have with video purchases on iTunes is that they are forced to either throw away their files after watching them, or find a place to store the large files either on their hard drive or by burning them to DVDs. By storing their video content for them and allowing users to stream it for viewing as often as they want, Apple would essentially be offering a media center alternative.
Norway Consumer Advocate Drops iTunes Complaint
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009Following three years of attempts to sanction Apple for anti-competitive iTunes practices, Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman Bjorn Erik Thon has said he is dropping a complaint against iTunes before the company’s Market Council, due to Apple’s announcement that all music on iTunes Store will be available DRM-free as of April. “We have no reason to pursue them anymore,” Thom told AFP. Thom had previously said that Apple’s iTunes DRM scheme and contract terms breach the Norwegian Marketing Control Act, and planned to bring the matter before Norway’s Market Council, a government agency that can impose fines and require companies to change their business practices.
Apple Working To Fix iTunes Plus Upgrade Problems
Friday, January 30th, 2009A number of customers attempting to upgrade existing iTunes albums to the new DRM-free Plus format have reportedly run into problems, according to Macworld. Some people were charged the full price for an album, instead of the discounted price which is typically only 30 percent of the retail cost. A customer’s notification to Apple received a response that acknowledged the problem and claimed that a refund would be issued after the initial order was processed, while offering five song credits for the inconvenience.
Users can open their iTunes account page and reference the purchase history to find any overcharged entries. After clicking the button to report a problem, the overcharged item can be selected and the issue can then be reported to Apple.
Now Offered Track-By-Track iTunes Plus Upgrades
Thursday, January 29th, 2009Apple is now allowing iTunes Store customers to upgrade previously-purchased DRM-encoded tracks to the higher-quality, DRM-free iTunes Plus format on a track-by-track basis. Up until now, users were forced to upgrade on an all-or-nothing basis, angering some users with larger iTunes Store-purchased music libraries, who were faced with upgrade costs in the hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars. U.S.-based users may upgrade individual songs for $0.30 a piece, with varying prices for users in other countries.
High-Definition Is Slowly Starting To Appear In UK
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009High-definition downloads have finally arrived on the UK version of Apple iTunes store.
The first two episodes of the fifth season of the hit TV show Lost are now available at a cost of £2.49 per episode, with a season pass available for £41.99. Along with a free “Lost Starter Kit” is available in high-definition as well.
High-definition TV show downloads were introduced as part of iTunes 8 at Apple’s “Let’s Rock” media event, but availability has been limited to the US iTunes Store since that time.
iTunes Finally To Become DRM-Free
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009Recently Apple announced it has finally struck deals with all the major music labels, making songs sold via the iTunes Store free of digital rights management.
As of right now 8 million of the iTunes Store’s 10 million songs are offered without DRM; the entire catalog is expected to go DRM-free by the end of the first calendar quarter of 2009.
Users who have already purchased music from the iTunes Store protected with Apple’s FairPlay DRM will be able to upgrade their entire library of previously-purchased songs, though an additional fee is required—30 cents per song.
Since going online, the iTunes Store has retained one pricing model — 99 cents per track, with many albums priced at $9.99. That’s changing in April, said Schiller — there will then be three pricing tiers: 99 cents, 69 cents, and $1.29
Apple Releases Software 1.0.3 For iPod Nano 4G
Friday, November 14th, 2008Apple has released Software Version 1.0.3 for the fourth-generation iPod nano. According to the company, the update adds support for Apple’s new In-Ear Headphones and Earphones with Remote and Mic, a setting to turn off Cover Flow when rotating, and a Cover Flow menu item in the Music menu. Other changes include fixes for instability issues with the Nike + iPod Sport Kit, problems with album art and photos distorting after playing a slideshow and waking from sleep, respectively, and other general bug fixes. Software Version 1.0.3 for the fourth-generation iPod nano is available now via the Update feature in iTunes.
Fourth-gen iPod nano owners can obtain the update by connecting their iPod to their computer, selecting the iPod from the left-side device list in iTunes, and then selecting the ‘Check for update’ option.
Bargains To Be Had At the iTunes Music Store This Christmas
Friday, November 14th, 2008iTunes has opened a new section called “Movies of the Week”10 classic films for under $5 will be offered. This new section is mirroring their section called “Albums of the Week.” iTunes Store users will now be able to browse through a nice category of limited time, cheaper digital downloads.