iTunes 9 Focus: iTunes LP

I spent the weekend working on creating my first itunes LP (first indie hip hop one) if any one's interested.

Though it's very basic, I learned a lot and it's not THAT hard to create one... so I can see a lot more indie artists going this route if we can actually get them into the itunes store.....


You can download mine for free at http://www.universalindie.com

Hello,

I suppose these do not work with the AppleTV, right?

Nice tear apart jay, I look forward to a user friendly method to creating my own "LP". Maybe just prettying up a wikipedia or discogs entry and wrapping it up with the music for a quick iTunes LP. :-)

cheers!

I went a little more in-depth on my blog, tearing apart the .itlp package that creates the iTunes LP experience. It's a WebKit site using only HTML, CSS and JS. Please check it out! http://jwr.cc/x/3

Dave,

I'm curious, what is the size of the downloaded LP Album file? How does it compare to the size of a regular album?

If it's using HTML5, I'm wondering if the videos, pictures, music, etc. all reside as one file that is fully downloaded to your computer or whether this data is dynamic, i.e. the artist can update it at any time in the future. Also, whether you need an internet connection to view the material or whether it all resides entirely on your local machine.

Thanks for the post.

I do like this idea, although I am sad that I already own the CD for "Come Away with Me", and being the frugal bastard that I am prevents me from purchasing an album that I already own. Unless it's Coldplay. Or AC/DC. Or Melody Gardot. Or...you know what, nevermind...I'll probably pick this up anyways. There goes a nice dinner date.

What I'd like to know is if there's a way for people to "roll your own" iTunes LP? I'm really curious to see what's the technology under the hood of these things. If I have the ability to roll my own stuff, that would be freaking amazing.

This is pretty much what I've NOT been waiting for in digital music. Give me uncompressed audio. Give me 5.1 or 7.1 channel music. Give me a way to back it up on physical media that can be played independent of iTunes. (This is why I don't buy any kind of video content from iTunes.)

This is pretty much what I've been waiting for in digital music. I too have come to accept and embrace digital music (mostly for the instant gratification) but I refuse to part with my 500+ cd collection soley because I enjoy the packaging... Its actually sad to see it go, one of my favorite aspects of design.
However, iTunes LP sounds like the ticket. Hopefully this takes off and becomes mainstream. It finally brings back the experience of buying a physical cd... so now I just need to be able to view the same content on my iPhone and we're set. I also hope this is available to all artists, and not just the mainstream.
I also noticed that Apple isn't charging a premium for iTLPs either. The AiC and Muse albums are the same price as the non-lp versions last week.

This is definitely the biggest step in the right direction for digital music thus far.

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.

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.

"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...