Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iTS, Multimedia, Software, iTunes
iTunes 9 Focus: iTunes LP
For me, the most exciting feature of iTunes 9 is iTunes LP. As a kid, I read CD booklets cover to cover, looked at every photo, saw who played what instrument on what track and who wrote the songs. That's an experience I've missed since distribution went digital, but I've accepted it.
A couple of years ago, Apple added digital booklets to to the iTunes Store, and some of them were quite nice. But even the best don't compare to iTunes LP. Today I purchased the deluxe version of "Come Away With Me" by Norah Jones [iTunes link] and spent nearly 20 minutes exploring it, just like the old days.
The album contains a bonus track ("Peace"), but the real fun begins when you double-click the "Deluxe Version" file and you're presented with something that resembles a DVD menu. A simple animation draws Norah's name while the first few measures of "Come Away With Me" are heard. From there, you're set to explore.
This album has seven options: Play album, songs, memorabilia, photos, videos, liner notes and credits. The first two do what you'd expect, accompanied by photos and lyrics. The memorabilia feature surprised me with pictures of backstage passes, the tour calendar and a "quickie rundown" of events from the 45th Grammy Awards (Norah's appearances highlighted).
There are sixteen photos and four videos including -- surprise! -- Norah's appearance on Sesame Street (much to my 4-year-old's delight). Finally, the full liner notes, biography and album credits are included, each with beautiful photos.
Music fans will love this feature, as will fans of participating artists. It's not like holding a record jacket or CD booklet in your hand, but that's an unfair comparison anyway. Paper liner notes don't contain videos, photos of this size or some of the other goodies. iTunes LP is a very welcome treat.
Check out the gallery below for screenshots.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Yoshi1080 said 10:26AM on 9-10-2009
Man I hate that I already own this album on CD! Maybe I'll gift it to someone and buy myself the iTunes LP. Yeah, I really prefer digital stuff over analog stuff...
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Rick said 10:30AM on 9-10-2009
I always used to read LP and liner notes -- that was part of the whole deal for me.
In my lifetime there are a few albums I've already bought as:
LP
8-track
Cassette
CD
CD to replace the previously lost/melted/scratched one
DVD
Napster (well, those were free)
iTunes
and then the CD again so I'd have my own copy to rip
And now, Blu-Ray
As a rabid Neil Young fan, I must do these things :-)
I don't know what the music industry is complaining about...
My question: What about albums I've already purchased? Will that artwork become available or does one need to re-purchase the whole album again?
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Al said 10:46AM on 9-10-2009
i agree, i have lots of full albums already, but i doubt that it will be as easy as downloading the album artwork covers. what's the deal?
oboewan said 11:35AM on 9-10-2009
No, with the exception of the iTunes Pass version of DMB's "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King."
In fact, they're not even doing a separate iTunes LP version - they're including all the LP content with the Pass version.
Also, I noticed that the upcoming Muse album isn't even available on iTunes in a non-LP version.
Nathan said 10:30AM on 9-16-2009
I'm hoping that there's an upgrade option like they offered with the shift to iTunes Plus. This content is worth something, and I'd pay another dollar or two an album.
It would be extra great if iTunes could identify albums ripped from CDs (as Gracenote does, but more accurately) and offer to turn the ripped version in an iTunes LP for the same upgrade fee.
All this is assuming that some of the content works on my iPhone, particularly lyrics. That's where I listen to music most, and that's when I wonder, "who played bass on this track," or "Did he just say he was gonna 'kiss this guy?'"
If the LP part doesn't travel, it's not worth a cent to me- though I guess I'd take it for free.
The labels should love this, as it lets them charge AGAIN for music already sold once, which is a favorite scheme for them. OTOH, they're insanely distrustful of anything ripped or burned and have a pitifully poor record of identifying good strategies for the digital marketplace.
JPereira said 10:35AM on 9-10-2009
It looks amazing. I want to buy the Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King but I can't. I am in the US but they won't let me buy unless I have an american credit card.
Is there any way to bypass this without having to buy an iTunes gift vard?
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David said 10:44AM on 9-10-2009
I really what this, but sadly not available in Europe yet!
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Curtis said 10:49AM on 9-10-2009
Is any of this LP functionality on the iPod Touch or iPhone, or is it just in iTunes?
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Kelmon said 10:52AM on 9-10-2009
I have to watch the complete announcement to see if there is something that I missed there but my reaction at the moment is that this whole event seems to have been a colossal waste of time. If Apple was hoping to give Microsoft's Zune HD something to worry about then they missed the mark by a wide margin. Having installed iTunes 9 I am totally unimpressed. Why is this application not Cocoa-native yet? All we seem to have got with this release is an iTunes Store and downloads built around WebKit. I really do not have any interest in "enhanced" downloads with extra information and the like - what I want is quality music. I am very happy to buy the complete album already if the price is good and I like enough of the tracks but if the music is poor then no amount of extras are going to persuade me to pay for it.
I tend to look at this sort of thing and feel that Apple and the recording industry are fixing the wrong problems. Better quality music at a lower price is what people want and I do not see iTunes LPs being particularly popular.
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EMoShunz said 11:05AM on 9-10-2009
careful, as i recall, one of the other tuaw writers has an aversion to norah jones. i love her, but would hate to see people have to read about "bland" musicians :P
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BeyondtheTech said 11:07AM on 9-10-2009
Lord, she's hot. What happened to her hair at the keynote?!
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bobbar said 11:17AM on 9-10-2009
Seems that much of the iTunes 9 redesign and features are prepping us for the much rumored media tablet. With its Webkit basis and layout, with the iTunes LPs and Extras, even with the new look and functionality of the iTunes store, all seems geared toward a touch screen/web browser device. Let's face it, wouldn't an iTunes LP or Extra look sweet on a 10" widescreen device that resembled an iPod touch?
I'm just saying...
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Frank said 1:15PM on 9-10-2009
^^THIS.
my thoughts exactly. steve hasn't let the other shoe drop yet. i get the feeling we will look back at this announcement later and go "OHHHHHhhhhhh, so *that's* what that was all about. duh!"
g said 11:14AM on 9-10-2009
I'm wondering what technology and tools they use for this? Is it built of webkit, is it built in flash?
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Galley said 11:36AM on 9-10-2009
From what I have read, it is using WebKIt and HTML 5 goodness.
If only these "LPs" were made available in lossless audio. They look really neat.
John Hamilton Farr said 11:26AM on 9-10-2009
"As a kid," I used to buy single 45rpm records. Not even LPs had been invented yet, and there wasn't anything to read on the paper envelope the 45 came in.
I used to buy tons of LPs. Have bought very few CDs over the years -- by comparison, the cost is simply too high. Now I find occasional tracks I like at Blip.fm, Internet radio stations, or other sources, and record them on my iMac. I almost never buy a CD, and to this date, I still haven't purchased a single song online...
When I do listen to music, it's through big speakers, never with an iPod. Can't imagine walking, bike riding, or doing anything else without being able to hear what's going on in my environment.
But mainly, I MAKE music. I play in a surf/punk band. :-) I pick up my resophonic bouzouki or my Guild 12-string. I sit outside and play my heart out.
Will take my time downloading this update, in other words...
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manasclerk said 12:08PM on 9-10-2009
I thought the comment about "As a kid, I read CD booklets cover to cover" pretty funny, too.
You can't put an iTunes LP on the wall, either.
As least they aren't quite as fragile as my 78s were back in the day.
Cartman005 said 12:44PM on 9-10-2009
What is the difference between these iTunes LPs and the old "Interactive Booklets" that used to come with some iTunes albums before a QuickTime security update broke them? I'm not talking about Digital booklets, these interactive booklets were .mov files. It seems like the LPs are just a glorified version of those with much more hype.
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artifex said 12:44PM on 9-13-2009
Whew! Was it a security update that broke them?
All this time I wondered why my U2 box set booklet, for my black & white U2 iPod, was broken and wouldn't load.
Did Apple ever go back and fix these?
Smivey said 12:52PM on 9-10-2009
Nice feature, yes. But why did they take away the ability to minimize to the mini player? Now I have to use a keyboard command or do it via the menu.
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