Music lovers petitioning Apple to offer PDF album booklets with purchase from iTMS
Patrons of the iTunes Music Store have started an online petition that is asking Apple to offer PDF album booklets for download with purchased music from the iTMS:
We, the undersigned, would like Apple to start offering pdfs of album booklets for albums we purchase in the iTunes Music Store (heretofore known as iTMS). Having the music from the album is nice, but part of the whole music listening experience lies in looking through the booklet while listening to the album. Many booklets contain the lyrics which, when purchased from iTMS, we are denied that experience. Much work and money goes in to the creation of these CD booklets. Artists spend hours, days, even months creating the perfect artwork, and yet with iTMS we are given a 1 X 1 square representation of ONLY the cover. Booklets also contain songwriting and musician/producer credits. Only sometimes do these appear on the album pages in iTMS…and always in an abbreviated format. Artists spend much time creating their “Special Thanks”....all missing from iTMS. PLEASE consider making these available for downloading.
You can sign the petition or view the signatures, album lovers.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
tkn said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
It would be nice if album covers were also just linked to the MP3s and not incorporated within them. Frankly I don't need to bloat the size of each and every MP3 on an album with the increased size, so I don't use the feature.
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GC in CA said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
It's a nice idea, but I'm taken aback by the tone. The iTMS was conceived of and presented as an alternative to illegal downloading. Using the original Napster or Macster or Limewire didn't get you liner notes, either, but everyone who used it said that that wasn't the point. People wanted small files that they could store on their hard drives and use on portable players. Apple never claimed, to my knowledge, that iTMS was going to be the death of the CD, only that it was a legal alternative to the hit-and-miss P2P download options out there.
The option to download PDFs of album art and liner notes might be nice, but I don't know that it is something that needs to be petitioned; that makes it comes across as a demand rather than a suggestion.
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Christopher Gervais said 7:13PM on 6-21-2005
I understand the desire behind this petition, but Apple is only one part of the equation. I seriously doubt that the record labels are delivering Apple download-ready PDFs of all their artists' releases' cover art. Apple can provide the channel, but the record companies have to generate the content in a standard format. Apple can help, but they can't force the record companies into producing liner notes in PDF format. In fact, record companies have good reason not to do this: so that you'll buy a CD if you really want the extra goodies (liner notes, bonus DVDs, etc.). If liner notes up'ed the price another $0.99 would you buy it? Why do you assume that a) electronic liner notes would be free and b) that it's in the record companies' best interest to do this?
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Kirk Lawrence said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
Well, I bought the new U2 album (How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb) last Tuesday from the iTMS and guess what? It included a .pdf of the CD booklet!!! I believe its the first one Apple has made available.
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RobPez said 4:14PM on 6-16-2005
I agree with Chris. Extra content is not the responsability of iTMS. The publishers of the music not the retailer should make extra content available, for a fee. People signing this petition must understand that they are not entitled to ANYTHING for free. What exactly do they think they are paying for with $0.99? it would be nice if for an EXTRA fee - of lets say $0.99 - you could buy the booklet with your song. Maybe you could get the booklet included with the purchase of the entire album, but not for free. You have to remember that in order for (greedy) record companies to provide more downloaded music support they have to see the potential to make profit. I think Apple is already doing a great job in providing extra free content in iTMS.
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barb dybwad said 4:41PM on 10-07-2005
I agree with the sentiments that this has more to do with what record labels are willing to offer than with Apple itself. And, as RobPez points out, the (greedy) record labels are not likely to suddenly throw in added value for no extra cost.
Still - it seems like PDF liner notes is a feature waiting to happen. The overhead cost would be mostly setting up some mechanism to convert the booklets from whatever their native format into PDF, and once the mechanism is in place the extra 'cost' to 'produce' a digital booklet would approach nil. Then again - record companies are going to need some incentive to undertake that overhead cost.
So perhaps the petition is misdirected, and should be targeted at the big 4 instead of at Apple.
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