The iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple Inc. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, it proved the viability of online music sales and is now the number-one music vendor in the United States. As of June 2008, the store has sold 5 billion songs, accounting for more than 70% of worldwide online digital music sales. Some downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by FairPlay, Apple's version of digital rights management.
Features and Restictions
Pricng Models
Since the introduction of the iTunes Store, individual songs were all sold for the same relatively low price with no subscription fee. This contrasted to most systems in place at the time that also charged a subscription fee. The pricing model has basically remained this way in all countries though in some places song prices can vary based on artist. Music in the store is in the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) format, which is the MPEG-4-specified successor to MP3. Songs with DRM are encoded at 128 kilobits per second (kb/s). Songs from EMI and many indie labels are available without DRM and encoded at the higher-quality rate of 256 kb/s. For a time, these versions—known as "iTunes Plus"—commanded a premium price but have since returned to the flat-rate model. Previews, thirty seconds in length, are available free, prior to buying a song. Complete albums are also available for a flat rate regardless of the number of songs on that album. Podcasts are free. In addition, volume discounts of up to 20% are available for purchases of more than 25,000 songs.
Feature length movies and television episodes are available for purchase. Movies tend to be priced below a DVD of the same film while television episodes are approximately double the cost of a song.
Finally, some games are available for some models of iPods for various prices, but none as expensive as a feature length film.
At the Macworld 2008 keynote, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced iTunes Movie Rentals. Movies are available for rent in the iTunes Store 30 days after they have been released on DVD and are available for a cheaper rate. However, they only are accessible for 24 hours after you begin viewing them. This feature is not yet available in all countries like Australia.
Weekly Promotions
There is also a weekly promotion in which one to three songs are available to download for free to logged-in users. Free downloads are available on Tuesdays, and remain free until the following Tuesday. Some artists choose to have select songs available for no charge. This is not available at all iTunes Stores worldwide. Some iTunes television programs have begun the same technique to encourage brand loyalty; although those stay longer. In fact, the iTunes Store used to have a link to "Free TV" on its home page and the TV Shows section's home page which links to a complete listing of free TV shows, however it has disappeared (the page has remained online). Apple still sells free TV episodes; some channels have their own pages of "Free Season Premieres".
