Apple to bundle a new interactive booklet, sleeve notes w/ music downloads
 

This should have been done long ago, if even in a simple stripped down way. When you puchase an album digitally, you should still get the liner notes, personnel, recording specs, lyrics, year of release, artwork, etc. - whatever is attached to the physical release to the extent possible.
Now here's hoping Amazon does something similar b/c I like their download system better than iTunes.

From the Financial Times:


27 Jul 2009 1:01am?

Apple joins forces with record labels

By Matthew Garrahan in Los Angeles, Kenneth Li in New York and Joseph Menn in San Francisco

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.

Physical album sales have fallen sharply as music retailing has evolved from CD album purchases in retail outlets to digital downloads of songs from online stores.

Although consumers continue to purchase large amounts of digital music, they are buying individual tracks rather than higher-margin albums.

Apple is working with EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music and Universal Music Group, on a project the company has codenamed “****tail”, according to four people familiar with the situation.

The labels and Apple are working towards a September launch date for the project, which aims to boost interest in albums by bundling liner notes and video clips with the music.

“It’s all about re-creating the heyday of the album when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music,” said one executive familiar with the plans.

Apple wants to make bigger purchases more compelling by creating a new type of interactive album material, including photos, lyric sheets and liner notes that allow users to click through to items that they find most interesting. Consumers would be able to play songs directly from the interactive book without clicking back into Apple’s iTunes software, executives said.

“It’s not just a bunch of PDFs,” said one executive. “There’s real engagement with the ancillary stuff.”

I'm really looking forward to this, I've always wanted to read some of my favorite bands linear notes but I don't usually buy albums.

That's amazing!

I still would rather buy the album, but still.

A while ago I did a search to see if i could find a website that specialized in liner notes from albums. Surprisingly I couldn't find one. Pretty surprising.