iTunes Store

Sony to Launch Online Entertainment Store in 2010

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 11:23am.
Tokyo - Sony (NYSE: SNE) announced plans on Friday to launch a new online store next year that will sell books, music and movies next year, and deliver content to networked televisions and other devices. The company did not provide many details about the "Sony Online Service," as it is tentatively being called, but is expected to be positioned as a competitor to Apple's iTunes Store.

iTunes Preview Offers Store Data Without Launching iTunes

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 13, 2009 - 11:38am.
Los Angeles - Apple (NASD: AAPL) has introduced a new website for its iTunes Store, which will direct users looking to preview content the option to view it online without having to launch the iTunes application, Apple Insider reports. The new iTunes Preview site also lets users browse by artist and album, and view biographies, track length and pricing details. Song samples, however, are still tied directly to the iTunes application.

Apple Now Offers 250 HD Movie Titles on iTunes Store

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 10, 2009 - 11:36am.
Cupertino, Calif. - Apple (NASD: AAPL) has expanded the library of HD movies available for purchase from its iTunes Store to 250, according to a promotional email from the company. New titles available for $19.99 include "Up," "WALL*E," "G.I. Joe," "Twilight," nine James Bond films and a pre-order for "Star Trek."

tags: HD | Apple | Movies | iTunes Store |

Ticketing Firm CTS Eventim Partners with iTunes Store

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 9, 2009 - 11:49am.
Hamburg, Germany - CTS Eventim, a Germany-based online ticketing company, has partnered with Apple's iTunes Store to market its concerts to iTunes Store customers, Billboard reports. Under the deal, iTunes customers will receive access to Eventim concert pre-orders before the general sale date, while Eventim.de will provide concert promoters with iTunes-related marketing opportunities.

MySpace Adds Music Video Portal, iTunes Links, Artist Dashboard

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 22, 2009 - 10:41am.
Los Angeles - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace on Thursday announced the launch of a number of new music-related features, including a music video portal, integrated purchase links to iTunes, and an analytics tool for artists and labels using the site to promote their recordings.

Report: Posthumous Michael Jackson Album to Sell at iTunes

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2009 - 11:40am.
San Francisco - The posthumous Michael Jackson Album "This Is It" will be sold on Apple's iTunes Store on Oct. 27, meaning either Sony Music/Epic Records has caved and will sell individual tracks in addition to the full album, or Apple has made an exception to its policy of only accepting albums if they are also made available for purchase as individual tracks, Wired.com reports. An earlier report had proffered that the album would be absent from iTunes, due to Apple's policy. Epic Records SVP of publicity Lois Najarian told Wired.com the company is currently working on the bundling issue.

Update:
Wired.com reports that a compromise of sorts has been struck, which will see iTunes will stock both the full album, and a separate, six-song EP containing the previously unreleased tracks.

Apple Settles Copyright Suit with Eminem's Music Publisher

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 5, 2009 - 9:36am.
Detroit - Apple (NASD: AAPL) has settled a lawsuit filed by hip-hop artist Eminem's music publishing company over digital distribution rights of his songs, the Associated Press reports.

Starz Adds Films From Overture, Anchor Bay to iTunes Store

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 24, 2009 - 9:33am.
New York - Starz Digital Media announced that it has made classic movies from Overture Films, Anchor Bay Films, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Manga Entertainment available for both rental, and purchase and download from Apple's iTunes Store. Titles include "Sunshine Clearing," "The Hills Have Eyes" and "Phantasm."

Eminem's Publisher Sues Apple Over iTunes Store Tracks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 23, 2009 - 9:55am.
Detroit - Rapper Eminem's music publisher has filed suit against Apple (NASD: AAPL), claiming that the artist never authorized some 93 songs to be sold at the iTunes Store, the Associated Press reports. The lawsuit from Eight Mile Style LLC says Apple was wrongfully enriched by $2.5 million from the sale of the song downloads, and argues that the publisher should share in iPod sales.

eMusic: 72% of Worldwide Sales Are Full Albums

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 17, 2009 - 11:37am.
New York - Digital music service eMusic says that full album downloads accounted for 72% of its worldwide sales over the past year, and that its customers "have consistently purchased more complete albums than individual tracks for the last several years, with full albums accounting for an average of about 69% of total sales worldwide since 2006." The company says its album sales numbers run counter to data reported by iTunes and SoundScan, which have found album sales far outshined by sales of individual tracks.

Steve Jobs Unveils New iPods, Updates for iTunes, iPhone

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 9, 2009 - 7:53am.
San Francisco - Apple (NASD: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs took the stage on Wednesday for the first time since undergoing a liver transplant earlier this year, to unveil upgraded and discounted iPods, including a video-capable iPod nano, as well as updates to its iTunes and iPhone software. Jobs compared the new video-capable iPod nano to the popular Flip video camera, noting that it is a fifth as thick as the Flip, and one-tenth of its volume. The new nano -- which will sell for $149 (8GB) and $179 (16GB) -- will now also sport a larger 2.2-inch display and built-in speaker.

Target Links with iTunes Store to Offer Exclusive Albums

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 26, 2009 - 1:17pm.
Minneapolis - Retail store chain Target (NYSE: TGT) said on Wednesday that it has partnered with Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store to create a special Target area on iTunes that will feature exclusive album content. The first album to be featured will be Pearl Jam's forthcoming "Backspacer"; fans who pre-order the album on iTunes will receive an instant download of the first single off the record. The album will only be available from Target, iTunes, Pearl Jam's website, and independent retailers.

Spotify Making Labels More Money than iTunes in Sweden

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 26, 2009 - 9:17am.
Stockholm, Sweden - Spotify, the Sweden-based ad-supported streaming music site preparing for its U.S. launch, now generates more revenues for record labels in Sweden than does Apple's iTunes Store, Swedish Wire reports. "In five months from the launch Spotify became our largest digital source of income and so passed by iTunes," Per Sundin, head of major label Universal Music in Sweden, told Swedish Wire.

Report: CDs Still 65% of U.S. Market; iTunes Sells 1 in 4 Tracks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 18, 2009 - 9:49am.
*A correction was made to this story.

Port Washington, N.Y.
- While digital music sales are taking a larger share of the U.S. market, and Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store now accounts for one of every four songs sold, CDs still comprise 65% of all music purchases, according to a report from market research firm NPD Group. "Many people are surprised that the CD is still the dominant music delivery format, given the attention to digital music and the shrinking retail footprint for physical products," said NPD analyst Russ Crupnick. "But with digital music sales growing at 15 to 20 percent, and CDs falling by an equal proportion, digital music sales will nearly equal CD sales by the end of 2010."

Apple Debuts iTunes Store in Mexico

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 4, 2009 - 12:39pm.
Cupertino, Calif. - Apple (NASD: AAPL) said on Tuesday that it has launched a new version of its iTunes Store for the Mexican market. The site features a wide selection of Mexican and international music from all the major labels and hundreds of independent labels, with most songs priced at 12 pesos and most albums at 120 pesos. The Mexican iTunes Store will also provide access to the App Store for Apple's iPhone and iPod touch. Separately, Apple announced the addition of a new Bob Marley & Wailers EP, and a number of out-of-print reggae albums from artists like the Heptones and Wailing Souls to the iTunes Store.

FT: Apple, Labels Aim to Boost Digital Album Sales With Extras

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2009 - 7:46am.
Los Angeles - Apple (NASD: AAPL) has partnered with the four major record labels on a project, codenamed "Cocktail," that hopes to boost digital album sales by bundling extras like interactive booklets, liner notes and video clips, the Financial Times reported. "It's all about re-creating the heyday of the album when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music," one executive familiar with the plans told FT.

Digital Distributor WaTunes Offers Artists Daily iTunes Data

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 17, 2009 - 10:02am.
Detroit - WaTunes, a provider of digital distribution services for independent artists and record labels, on Friday announced the launch of its iTunes Daily Trending Service. For $1.99 per report, artists using WaTunes can receive reports on how their music sales are doing on a day-to-day basis.

Streaming Service Imeem to Launch Own Digital Song Store

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 7, 2009 - 7:46am.
San Francisco - Streaming music service imeem is quietly testing its own digital music download store, TechCrunch reported, with the company saying that it will continue to offer the existing links to purchase songs heard on its service from Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store and Amazon MP3 (NASD: AMZN) when its own store launches.

Apple Sued Over iTunes Gift Cards, Price Hike to $1.29 Songs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 26, 2009 - 8:39am.
San Francisco - Apple (NASD: AAPL) has been sued for breach of contract and consumer fraud by two Illinois residents, who claim the company misled them by marketing its gift cards for the iTunes Store as redeemable for 99-cent songs, when in fact some songs now cost $1.29 each, CNET News.com reported.

Death of Michael Jackson Spikes News Traffic, Music Sales

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 26, 2009 - 8:07am.
San Mateo, Calif. - As news spread about Michael Jackson's death on Thursday, fans and curiosity seekers inundated the Internet for information, slowing several major news sites to a crawl, according to website performance measurement firm Keynote Systems. The firm said that during the early evening hours, sites including ABC, CBS, the L.A. Times and AOL became nearly unavailable (down to nearly 10% availability).