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Why Won't Apple Sell Your iTunes LPs?

Posted by timothy on from the can-anyone-think-of-a-reason? dept.

jfruhlinger writes "Over the weekend there's been a bit of controversy over the fact that Apple has effectively shut indie artists out of the iTunes LP market by charging $10,000 in design fees. But the real question is why Apple is in charge of designing the new iTunes LP at all, since the format is based on open Web design technologies. There's at least one iTunes LP already available outside the iTunes store. Why won't Apple sell it?"

24 of 306 comments (clear)

  1. LP? by Thelasko · · Score: 4, Informative

    I don't use iTunes so I must be missing something. Do they sell Long Play records on iTunes or does LP stand for something else?

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    1. Re:LP? by Cheesetrap · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's part of that retro-is-new thing, all the kids are doing it, it's alltuhh-9ytujhff all the rage (sorry, electric typewriter keys got stuck - one of the hazards of being cool).

    2. Re:LP? by LordKronos · · Score: 4, Informative

      The LP is part of the move toward providing a more complete product back like they did with CDs, cassettes, and vinyl. With those things, you typically got extra stuff, like elaborate cover and inside art, and song lyrics, and with CDs there could be a data track with videos and other stuff. These are things that have gone by the wayside with digital downloads. Now that we are reaching the point where CD's are becoming a thing of the past for a much larger number of people, there has been an outcry about the loss of all of those extras. The digital LP is a focus to get those things back, so you can have all your extras for the complete experience.

    3. Re:LP? by Cheesetrap · · Score: 4, Informative

      Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, what they're calling an 'LP' is essentially a DVD-style menu for your album. With pics, lyrics and bio - you know, the kind of stuff any 5-year-old can get from google or can be auto-loaded by many modern music players (WinAMP, Amarok, take your pick).

      So on a scale of usefulness from "necessary for human survival" to "would rather have my balls in a vise", it scores about a "meh".

    4. Re:LP? by Yvan256 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Nope, videos are recorded in H.264, then recorded on vinyl. It does require a 50000 RPM turntable though.

    5. Re:LP? by commodore64_love · · Score: 5, Informative

      RCA invented a video-record back in the 1970s. It used a needle and concentric grooves, but instead of touching the platter the needle hovered above the grooves. Using this method they could store 60 minutes of broadcast quality (440x480) analog video on one side of a 12 inch record.

      I still own one of these things. Unfortunately it failed for the same reason LaserDisc failed - it couldn't record live television or home movies as VHS could do. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitance_Electronic_Disc

      --
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    6. Re:LP? by Darth_brooks · · Score: 4, Funny

      The digital LP is a focus to get those things back, so you can have all your extras for the complete experience.

      How are you supposed to sort the seeds out of pot on the back of a digital LP?

      --
      There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
    7. Re:LP? by CarpetShark · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The digital LP is a focus to get those things back, so you can have all your extras for the complete experience.

      Ahh, so it's like a torrent that comes complete with cover art and an nfo file, then, but overpriced? ;)

    8. Re:LP? by Vindicator9000 · · Score: 5, Insightful
      For real? I've heard people complain that new albums only have a few good songs, and thought it was bunk... if that's the case, you're not listening to the right bands to begin with. Now old albums only have a few good songs?

      What about Zoso? Dark Side of the Moon? Tommy? Van Halen I? Bookends? Electric Ladyland? Brothers in Arms? 2112? I could go into modern examples too, starting with everything Dredg has ever made, and finishing with everything Muse has ever made

      There are thousands of albums that are great, start to finish. What's killing the music industry is not piracy, it's the fact that people no longer have the attention span to sit through a great album, and aren't willing to pay album prices for the singles that the radio has drilled into their heads.

    9. Re:LP? by Shakrai · · Score: 4, Insightful

      How are you supposed to sort the seeds out of pot on the back of a digital LP?

      Stop buying schwag and the problem takes care of itself ;)

      --
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      We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
    10. Re:LP? by jitterman · · Score: 5, Informative

      Another example: the new Alice In Chains release includes a few tracks that are (according to iTunes) not on the CD release. For all those who are completists and want to stay "legal" will probably think this is a good thing. Also, the cost of the album is (for now) $9.99, whereas the cost of the various tracks (and you can't get the bonus tracks without buying the album, so they don't even count towards this cost) add up to more than that.

      --
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    11. Re:LP? by jandrese · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'd argue that albums where every song is solid is the exception, not the norm. In fact it's pretty rare. There are some famous albmus where everything was good, but far, far more where there are a couple of good songs at the front, a bunch of filler in the middle, then one good song at the end.

      --

      I read the internet for the articles.
    12. Re:LP? by gnick · · Score: 5, Informative

      On a scale from "engine" to "giant Hello Kitty decal for the rear window", it scores about a "windshield wipers on the headlights".

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    13. Re:LP? by jvkjvk · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think it's insightful to his mindset when he says "if they had been good, they would have played on the radio".

      After that, it's easy to see where he's coming from, not that I agree with this premise.

    14. Re:LP? by DECS · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The idea is that "iTunes LP" would serve as the non-song content you used to get when you bought an album: the beautiful LP cover, lyrics, and other stuff. But upgraded to the digital era.

      The problem with this non-story is that Apple isn't selling iTunes LP extras, it's giving it away when you buy the regular album associated with it.

      It was a defensive move to prevent the labels from inventing their own proprietary format instead. iTunes LPs are just self-contained websites built using web standards: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Apple created a JavaScript framework called TuneKit to allow these "self contained websites" to interact with iTunes, playing content etc.

      The same format is used to deliver iTunes Extras, the same bonus format for movies. Essentially, both are designed to make extremely easy to author bonus content that labels and studios (including indies) can use to add value to their existing work.

      Obviously, Apple doesn't want to launch the new format with a bunch of crap, and taint it with mocking commentary that equates garbage or wierdo music with the format. So it launched the new format with iTunes 9 using a dozen big music acts and a similar number of recent movies. There has been the typical hysterical fit from poorly sourced, half-right "tech news" pieces that claimed Apple hates indies and will charge $10,000 (!) to develop the titles.

      This is clearly all uninformed bullshit because there's no way Apple would develop content for third parties for just $10,000 a pop. Not even a professional authoring artist would do these for that kind of budget. Compare the free involved with authoring a DVD or BluRay disc, or creating all the artwork for a band's website or a multimedia CD-ROM.

      Slashdot picked up the story and keeps trying to bump it up into the air because it sounds bad for Apple. The reality is that this is the best possible album format design anyone in the FOSS community could have hoped for. It's open, you can built it yourself, and kids can even apply some remedial HTML skills to remix their own content downloads. It's the web with a minimal business model.

      New iTunes LP and Extras built using TuneKit Framework, aimed at Apple TV
      Why Apple is betting on HTML 5: a web history
      Apple plans to open iTunes LP for independent labels

  2. Re:Can anyone think of a reason? by MBCook · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I can.

    What if this is to prevent labels from dumping crud into the iTunes store and making iTunes LP look like a joke? By forcing the studios to commit at least so much money to the project, they may only do it for bigger bands and when they can do a good job, instead of just putting 20 images together and just saying "Look! It's an LP" for everything in their catalog.

    Basically, this may be a way to help with initial quality control.

    The question is if it continues or not. Whether it's adjusted up or down, how it starts to work with indie labels, that will be the question.

    --
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  3. Re:Groan ... Pay More Money for What Exactly? by shinma · · Score: 4, Informative

    Extractor? On a mac, you just have to rightclick on the LP file and do a "show package contents." It's just a bundle that uses HTML5/CSS3.

    Doesn't take a lot of work.

    --
    Shinma
  4. Re:Who cares? by ReneeJade · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I disagree that albums are unhip or dead or anything like that. Anyone who is serious about their music knows that a complete LP should be, and often is, a single work of art. Many artists put a lot of effort into selecting and arranging songs on an album such that it reads like a single story. Albums may be dead among the teeny-boppers, but anyone over the age of 18 who loves music should appreciate the importance of albums. I agree with "who cares" though. I wish people would go down to their local CD shop and buy a record and support a small business instead of feeding some giant middle man like apple. Then you can read the lyrics, see the art, put the songs on your HDD, lend it to your family and do whatever you want with it. I hope albums and CD stores stay alive.

  5. Apple says there is no $10,000 charge by chrisgeleven · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1038901&c=1

    However, an iTunes spokesman says the fee is fiction. “There is no production fee charged by Apple,” he says. "We're releasing the open specs for iTunes LP soon, allowing both major and indie labels to create their own.”

  6. Re:Groan ... Pay More Money for What Exactly? by hitmark · · Score: 4, Insightful

    so in the end we are right back at apple wanting to deliver that special fairy dust experience that only "they" can deliver...

    talk about marketing machine...

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  7. Re:Can anyone think of a reason? by clickety6 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What if this is to prevent labels from dumping crud into the iTunes store

    Have you heard the pop charts recently ?

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  8. Re:Oh that's the $10,000 question. by Whalou · · Score: 5, Informative
    From Music Week (http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1038901&c=1

    However, an iTunes spokesman says the fee is fiction. There is no production fee charged by Apple, he says. "We're releasing the open specs for iTunes LP soon, allowing both major and indie labels to create their own.

    Not sure who is right, this guy or the guy who quoted the 10k$ figure.

    I guess we'll have to wait and see. Or not if you're not interested in LPs.

    --
    English is not this .sig mother tongue...
  9. Public service announcement.. by msimm · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As one of you old farts myself let me just say: the more things change the more thing stay the same. Music is still good and people are about as smart as they've ever been and many new albums are good start to finish, but people are exposed to MUCH more music then they have ever been before and digital distribution has absolutely de-emphasized the importance of the concept of album and either of these things might have something to do with the finicky, song-based approach many listeners take today.

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    Quack, quack.
  10. Apple has agreed to allow anyone to design an LP by DJRumpy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Responding to criticism that the iTunes LP format has been priced out of reach for independent musicians and labels, Apple has said it plans to open the format in the near future.

    Essentially they will allow anyone to design their own LP and bypass the $10,000 production fee.