iTunes

Black Sabbath’s early albums finally selling on iTunes with limited exclusivity

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

iTunes has scored another interesting win as the English rock band Black Sabbath and its publisher have finally relented and agreed to make the band's 1970s albums available on iTunes.

Although Black Sabbath's later material was available on Apple's online content store, this is the first time their 1970s work came to iTunes, including Paranoid and Masters of Reality albums.

Apple was also able to secure limited exclusivity as iTunes will get to sell the band's first eight studio albums, along with three compilations, during a short window of time before the albums hit other streaming services...

Day 12 of Apple’s 12 Days of Gifts event: The Rolling Stones EP

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 20, 2018

It's day 12, and what we assume to be the final day, of the big 12 Days of Gifts event. Apple has removed Mr. Crab and has posted a new item for download. Today's free gift is an EP (or extended play) from the English rock band The Rolling Stones.

The band really needs no introduction. These guys have been making music for over 50 years, and are ranked #8 on the "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists" chart. They're legends, and widely considered one of the best rock bands that ever lived...

Digital music sales drop for the first time since the iTunes Store’s inception

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 4, 2014

Proponents of digital music are in for a surprise as sales of digital albums and individual songs nosedived last year, for the first time since Apple revolutionized the music business with its iTunes Music Store back in 2003. According to a report by Billboard, industry executives are once again oblivious to the fact that consumers' tastes are changing and are blaming streaming music services such as Pandora and iTunes Radio for the drop. The full breakdown is after the break...

Day 9 of Apple’s 12 Days of Gifts: Kings of Leon EP

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 20, 2018

We are now on day 9 of the big 12 Days of Gifts event, meaning Apple has removed the Diary of a Wimpy iBook and has posted a new free item for download. Today’s gift is an EP (or extended play) from the American rock band Kings of Leon.

The band is widely popular in the UK, and more recently the US, taking home 3 Grammy Awards in 2010 thanks to hits like 'Use Somebody.' And today's free EP includes some of those hits, which it played at Apple's iTunes Festival this year...

Day 6 of Apple’s 12 Days of Gifts: ‘New Year’s Eve Mix’ by Avicii

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 20, 2018

We are now on day 6 of the big 12 Days of Gifts event, meaning the company has removed the Hugo movie and has posted a new free item for download. Today’s gift is the song 'New Year's Eve Mix' by popular Swedish producer Avicii.

It's been a huge year for Avicii, who has been topping charts around the globe with his latest album True. And New Year's Eve Mix is a 9-minute track that features a mashup of some of his hit songs from that album such as 'Hey Brother.'

Day 5 of Apple’s 12 Days of Gifts: the movie Hugo

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 20, 2018

We are now on day 5 of the big 12 Days of Gifts event, meaning Apple has removed the Toca House game and has posted a new free item for download. Today’s gift is the award-winning historical adventure drama Hugo.

Based on Brian Selznick's novel 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret,' and directed by the legendary Martin Scorsese, Hugo tells the story of a 12-year-old boy living in the walls of the Paris Gare Montparnasse railway station...

Day 2 of Apple’s 12 Days of Gifts: free episode of ‘Once Upon a Time’ [updated]

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 19, 2018

We are now on day 2 of Apple's 12 Days of Gifts event, meaning Apple has removed the Justin Timberlake EP and has posted a new free item for download. Today's gift is an episode—the pilot episode—of ABC's hit television series: 'Once Upon a Time.'

For those who haven't seen it, it's an American fairy tale drama that takes place in the fictional town of Storybrooke, Maine, where the residents are actually fairy tale characters. It sounds odd, but it's currently the #1 non-sports show on Sunday nights.

Update: interestingly enough, it looks like Apple changed the free download item mid-day. It now shows the game Tiny Thief here in the US. Get it while you can!

Apple kicks off its ’12 Days of Gifts’ event with Justin Timberlake EP

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 19, 2018

Christmas may be over now, but that doesn't mean you have to be done getting presents. Apple has kicked off its '12 Days of Gifts' event this morning with a free gift for its faithful users, and will continue to give one each day for the next week and a half.

Today's gift is the iTunes Festival EP from music superstar Justin Timberlake. The album contains 4 live performances from Apple's annual music festival this year, and is free for all users in qualifying areas who have downloaded the 12 Days of Gifts app...

Digital music download’s not dead: Beyoncé proves it

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Beyoncé’s fifth self-named album was released as an iTunes-exclusive with absolutely no hype five days ago. Billboard said the album had sold 80,000 copies in just three hours on its first day of iTunes release. Three days in, the digital download pulled 828,773 downloads, Apple confirmed.

It's become the fastest selling album ever on iTunes, broke the US first-week album sales record and went straight to number one in 104 countries. Today, Apple and Columbia have confirmed that the album has passed one million iTunes downloads.

This could easily be a watershed moment for the slowing sales of digital music downloads, if you ask me. If anything, Beyoncé’s proves that album sales are not dead yet even though digital music sales were down four percent through Thanksgiving...

Apple launches ‘Best of 2013’ iTunes page for top apps, games and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

As it has done every December since 2009, Apple has published an iTunes page today highlighting the top performing downloads in its various digital storefronts. The page covers everything from apps to games, to books and movies.

Apple named Duolingo, a free app that teaches you how to speak in different languages, its iPhone App of the Year and the popular 'Ridiculous Fishing - A Tale of Redemption' its iPhone Game of the Year. More top picks after the fold...

App updates not showing up in iTunes? I’m in the same boat!

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 16, 2013

I've noticed this morning that app updates stopped showing up in desktop iTunes on Mac and Windows. It's interesting that the App Store on my iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices still notifies me of available updates like before. For instance, tapping the Updates tab in the App Store storefront app on iDevices shows all of the available updates.

Not so much in desktop iTunes, unfortunately.

Individual app updates are still available by visiting an app's page in iTunes and hitting the Update button, they just won't show up in the Updates tab section section. Twitter says a growing number of users are now experiencing this hiccup, with early reports of the issue dating as far back as a week ago...

Apple says Beyoncé has become the fastest selling album ever on iTunes

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 16, 2013

CNBC is reporting on Twitter that Beyoncé's fifth self-named album, released as an iTunes exclusive three days ago, has become the fastest selling album ever on iTunes. Apple has confirmed the news via a press release this morning, saying Beyoncé has gone down in history as the fastest selling album ever on the iTunes Store worldwide.

The surprise album has racketed up a whopping 828,773 sales in just its first three days exclusive availability on iTunes. It also broke the US first-week album sales record with 617,213 sold and proved to be a global success going to number one in 104 countries...