Go Put Your Records On: A Review of iTunes LP

A while ago, I suggested that physical books may become to reading what vinyl records have become to music: produced in limited numbers, used by the very few who know it to be the best quality experience, but mostly collected for their nostalgic value.  It appears that this comparison may be inapt, because record companies, with some help from Apple, are trying to bring the vinyl experience back to life.

I am a pretty rabid fan of a little music ensemble called Dave Matthews Band.  You might have heard of them.  I just returned from a trip with my brother to the ostensible Mecca of DMB fandom: the band’s annual three-night stand at The Gorge Amphitheatre in central Washington.  Counting this weekend, I have been to 16 of their concerts.  I have all of their studio albums, most of their official live releases (they number in the double digits), and countless (legal) amateur recordings of other shows.  The total track count in my iTunes library for the band and their side projects numbers over 800.

But if you think those numbers are sickening, try these on for size.  I am such an unabashed fanboy of the band that when they released their latest studio album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, I ended up buying it in two different formats:

• the iTunes Pass version ($20), because along with the album tracks it also came with (so far) 16 extra pieces of exclusive video, studio audio, and live audio content delivered piecemeal over time;
• the (physical) Deluxe Box Set ($60) which included the same extra studio audio as above, did not include video or live audio, but added in extra artwork and photos.

Let’s pass over the rather obvious and self-admitted fact that I have obsession issues.  The interesting thing about the information above is that I had to pay $80 – eight times the album price – to get what might be called the total media experience available in physical or digital form.  Isn’t there a way to merge these two, and make it less expensive (and therefore more attractive) to feel like you truly own not only the music, but the album experience itself?  This is the question Apple has asked as sales of entire albums in the iTunes Store have dwindled, with consumers instead opting to buy tracks piecemeal.  Their first answer was a service called iTunes Pass.

iTunes Pass was Apple’s first attempt at solving the riddle of how to replicate the experience of buying a box set or, to go even further back in time, a vinyl.  You pay twice the normal album price, but in addition to the entire album itself, you get extra “special” content: early track releases ahead of the full album sale date, demo tracks, live tracks, the entire cover leaflet, videos, and more.  What makes it more interesting is that this extra content is not delivered all at once, but it is sent to you over time.  So every week or two, you have a nice little mini-Christmas when you find a new video or exclusive track to enjoy.  This rolling delivery method also enables access to content that might not otherwise be available on the album release date — like, say, live versions of tracks from the band’s tour.

I am not aware of how successful iTunes Pass has been, but it apparently was not satisfactory.  Yesterday, Apple supplemented that service with the long-rumored iTunes LP.  Both Apple and the record labels were interested in going beyond iTunes Pass to renew the “retro” experience of going to a store and buying a big, beautiful LP, and combining that with the feeling of exclusivity that comes with owning an exclusive content-filled box set.

Essentially, iTunes LP takes the iTunes Pass experience and dresses it up in an immersive, interactive format.  It will vary on an artist-by-artist and album-by-album basis, but often the experience will be crafted by the groups and their creatives staffs themselves, rather than by Apple.  In addition to putting the iTunes Pass audio and video content in a cool visual form, iTunes LP also has the capability to deliver the photos, artwork, lyrics, liner notes, and other information that before was really only desirable in physical form, in an engaging and attractive digital package.  It is unclear whether the LP content will be delivered piecemeal, as is/was the Pass content, or if it will be obtained all at once.

I have to say, when I first read about iTunes LP yesterday, I was skeptical.  It seemed to me that Apple was merely dressing up the iTunes Pass in a gimmicky, flashy interface.  However, my Big Whiskey iTunes Pass converted free-of-charge into an iTunes LP last night (after I upgraded to iTunes 9.0, which is required to view any iTunes LP), and I am actually pretty impressed.  iTunes LP actually is a pretty beautiful and engaging experience.  If this format had been available when I decided to buy the box set plus the iTunes Pass, I might just have bought the iTunes LP instead.  I get most of the same photos, all of the same videos, all of the same audio minus a few bonus studio tracks, and most of the same “aesthetic” experience provided by the box set.

Would I buy an iTunes LP for every album I bought?  No.  But for long-awaited albums from bands I really admire, sure.  My biggest issue is that, as far as I can tell, the iTunes LP is not a portable format.  Maybe the music and video content is, since I assume it is stored just like any other rich content is in iTunes; but the photos and the flashy aesthetic experience are most likely locked into Apple’s walled garden.  This won’t be a deterrent for most people though, and it offers a big reason for them to choose the iTunes Store as their point of purchase over competitors like Amazon (or Tropophilia’s darling, Lala).

Will the iTunes LP renew interest among consumers in full album purchases?  Will Lala and other competitors find a way to replicate this experience in the browser, and perhaps even in a portable, open format?  Will this save the music industry?  Stay tuned.