Apple joins forces with record labels

artistspaid:

Matthew Garrahan / Financial Times:

Apple is working with the four largest record labels to stimulate digital sales of albums by bundling a new interactive booklet, sleeve notes and other interactive features with music downloads, in a move it hopes will change buying trends on its online iTunes store.

The talks come as Apple is separately racing to offer a portable, full-featured, tablet-sized computer in time for the Christmas shopping season, in what the entertainment industry hopes will be a new revolution. The device could be launched alongside the new content deals, including those aimed at stimulating sales of CD-length music, according to people briefed on the project.

I’m filing this under ‘Good Ideas That Come Years Too Late’. If this had happened before the single became the standard unit of music purchase online, it might have made a difference. But the habits for consuming music have already been set, for this model of music distribution. Digital booklets aren’t going to have enough influence to change that established behaviour pattern, in my opinion.

artistspaid