iTunes LP: Only for Big Labels

October 8th, 2009

An independent label talked to Apple about producing their own iTunes LPs:

He was told that LPs aren’t being offered to indies and that there are only about 12 LPs being offered right now. They also said that iTunes charges a $10,000 production fee for them as well.

I understand Apple’s desire to insure the quality meets certain standards, and thus doing it yourself — but the only way this is going to be successful is to have a large offering of them. Just having a few, for the largest bands, isn’t going to work.

I’m not going to buy an iTunes LP for the Doors. I like the Doors, sure, but we already know everything about them. What I’d really be interested in is owning this material for new albums from current bands I really love, that are smaller and thus not as explored. The iTunes LP becomes valuable because the band is so small.

For example, I’d buy the iTunes LP for a new album from the Morning After Girls without any consideration. I love their music, they’re great live, and they’re only getting better with each new album. But I don’t know much about them — what their own musical interests are, how they write the songs and record them, and what they’re trying to achieve with their music. I’d pay a lot for this insight. It’d be absolutely fascinating.

By focusing on large labels and bands, then, Apple has this precisely backwards. iTunes LP for the big, established acts is boring and doesn’t do much,1 but is potentially really powerful for smaller bands.

And what a great way to learn about a band you’ve never heard before. Listen to the album, read the lyrics, and watch interviews with the band on the process of making the album and their own interests — I’d love that. When I discover a new band I really like, I try to find as much about them as I can, which usually isn’t all that much. iTunes LP would change that.

But not as Apple currently envisions it.

  1. Except, as I’m sure Apple is hoping, potentially be a large source of revenue — but that doesn’t mean much for the advancement of music. [↩]