Let the record show that Universal Indie is the first independent hip hop label to release an album in Apple’s new iTunes LP format. Quite an accomplishment for this little label especially since Apple hasn’t provided the full specs to anyone outside of the major labels and the whole thing had to be reverse engineered (the only other hip hop one is Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3) . Took me a full weekend of playing with code to do so and though this first release is rather basic as far as what can be done with the format, I can definitely see the possibilities and look forward to creating a better one for our next release.

I also see the possibilities from a marketing perspective as well. Since as of this writing, independently created iTunes LPs aren’t being added to the itunes store my thoughts of utilizing this format are a little different from the traditional thinking. Instead of trying to sell these, I’d prefer to give them away and charge for the option of portability. What I mean by this is, let the consumer gets their hands on the iTunes LP file as a free download. Let them listen to all the tracks in their entirety, view all the cover art & all the photos, watch all the video, read the linear notes. They’re free to play it all they want through their computer. Now, If they’re feeling the music so much that they want to add it to their favorite mp3 player or burn it to a cd, they’ll pay (hopefully) to download the album.

Understand that it’s not about trying to force someone to purchase something because in all honesty it’s not that hard to get at the actual music in these things, it’s more about guiding people to support artists that they’re actually feeling. By offering these iTunes LPs as free downloads without limits, hopefully there will be people who will want to help further the artists careers. To entice people to purchase the actual release we could add bonus songs not featured on the iTunes LP. Kind of the opposite of what they’re doing right now with these things but one that may work well for Universal Indie’s situation.

If you haven’t download the ENHANCED version of Cartel: Tha Throwback, you can do so at:
http://universalindie.com/universal-indie-releases-first-free-hip-hop-album-in-new-itunes-lp-format.html