Apple Launches 'Revolutionary' iTunes Service

Apple Inc. on Thursday introduced “Complete My Album”, an unprecedented iTunes service that allows customers to buy complete digital albums instead of purchasing individual tracks they had been buying so far from the store.

"Music fans can now round out their music collections by upgrading their singles into complete albums with just one click, and get full credit for those songs they have previously purchased from iTunes," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes. "Complete My Album is a wonderful new way that iTunes helps customers grow and enjoy their music collections."

The new iTunes feature gives a full credit of 99 U.S. cents for every track the customer previously bought from that album and applies it toward the purchase of the entire album.

Users need not to pay the full amount for the entire album if they have already purchased any track from that album, meaning already purchased tracks would be deducted from the total cost of the album. For example, a user who has already bought two 99 cent single tracks and intends to purchase the corresponding $9.99 album would be able to download the remaining songs to complete the album for just $2.97, without having to purchase the singles again.

Previously, users had to pay the full price of the album even if they have bought singles from that album.

"Once we bought a song, we wondered why we had to buy it again if we wanted the album," Cue said. "We hope it helps us sell more songs ultimately, and from the customer point of the view, we think it's the right thing to do."

Complete My Album offers customers up to 180 days after their initial purchase of individual tracks from any qualifying album to purchase the rest of that album at a reduced price. Apple said it will make the discount offer retroactive for a limited period of 90 days to users who bought tracks dating back to the launch of the iTunes Store four years ago.

Calling "Complete My Album" another "revolutionary" offering from the iPod/Mac maker, Thomas Hesse, a president of global digital business at Sony BMG Music Entertainment, in a statement said, "ITunes is giving music fans the best of both worlds- the ability to discover great new music by buying just the single and a credit toward the purchase of the complete album."

After revolutionizing the personal computing with its Macintosh line of desktop and notebook computers, and digital media market with its most popular iPod, the Cupertino, California based Apple is coming up with a multifunctional device, called iPhone, which is expected to revolutionise the mobile arena. The device will hit the European market in the fourth quarter and in Asia it will go on sale in 2008.

Apple's iTunes boasts of more than 70 percent of digital music sales in the United States. To date, iTunes has sold nearly 2.5 billion songs, of which nearly 45 percent were purchased as albums, Cue said.

Apple’s music store features the world's largest catalog with more than four million songs, 350 television shows and over 400 movies. The iTunes Store has sold over 50 million TV shows and over 1.3 million movies, making it the world's most popular online music, TV and movie store.

Shares of Apple jumped 51 cents to close at $93.75 on the NASDAQ Stock Market.