A recent discussion between Gizmodo's John Herrman and Brian McKinney who runs boutique record label Chocolate Lab Records, suggests that Apple's new iTunes LP feature may be just a pipe dream for most musicians.
According to Herrman, Mickinney researched the idea of making iTunes LPs for his artists after realising how simple they were to create. Ready to rock 'n' roll, McKinney contacted the digital distribution manager at his label's distribution office who then spoke with an iTunes representative about the idea.
Apparently, the iTunes representative explained that LPs are not being offered to independent record labels, and that in reality there are only around 12 LPs being offered for sale at the iTunes store at present.
The iTunes representative continued by stating that iTunes charges a production fee of $10,000 for the creation of an iTunes LP.
Herrman reports that such a fee is prohibitive to independent labels, and in effect pushes them out of the iTunes LP market. Hermann also goes on to state that with the higher price of LPs compared with regular iTunes files, no lossess audio and only limited device support (i.e. Apple devices), the iTunes LP service is likely to be "a hard sell".
If this particular iTunes representative is reporting accurate information, then its likely that albums from artists that work with independent labels will never see the light of day. Time will tell.
iTunes LP currently offers a limited range of albums in 256kbps AAC format, which are DRM free, together with a range of extras including photos, videos, visualizers and interviews.
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