AC/DC Comes to iTunes

Written by Jon Williams

It’s been a while since we made note of artists whose music isn’t available via iTunes. Since then, a number of heavyweights have decided to get on board with digital distribution. The biggest of these, of course, was the Beatles, who came to iTunes with much fanfare in November of 2010. Others have joined with less notice, such as Eagles member Glenn Frey, who released most of his solo catalog digitally along with his latest solo album, After Hours, in May of this year. Then there are artists like Kid Rock, whose latest offering, Rebel Soul, is available through the digital distributor, but not his back catalog (although rumour has it that it may be coming soon).

And then there’s AC/DC. Perhaps the biggest remaining holdout has finally reversed course, making their entire catalog available digitally as of November 20. The classic hard rock band was reluctant to offer their music as individual tracks as opposed to complete albums; however, the continued, expanding popularity of iTunes (it may account for up to 29% of U.S. music sales) was too strong to continue their resistance.

That said, here are a few remaining iTunes holdouts:

Def Leppard: Like Kid Rock, their latest release, Mirror Ball, is available on iTunes, but not their back catalog. Unlike Kid Rock, it seems unlikely that the situation is going to change anytime soon.

Bob Seger: Seger released two live albums with his Silver Bullet Band to iTunes in 2011, as well as a greatest hits compilation. Fans looking for more than that, however, will be disappointed.

Black Sabbath: Yes, there actually are quite a few Sabbath albums on iTunes. None of them, however, features Ozzy Osbourne on vocals. Those albums, essential to classic heavy metal fans, are nowhere to be found.

King Crimson: Exactly one King Crimson track (“The Court of the Crimson King”) is available on iTunes, and you can’t get it individually. You have to purchase the entire Children of Men soundtrack to get it.

Tool: Unlike the artists above, absolutely no music from Tool is available from iTunes. Like AC/DC did, they prefer their music to be available in album form only.

Garth Brooks: Taking over for AC/DC as probably the biggest remaining holdout, the country star also takes issue with selling songs as individual tracks, as well as iTunes’ pricing structure.

Make sure your patrons have access to the music they crave by stocking albums by these artists on your library shelves.

Classic Pink Floyd Albums Possibly Going Out of Print

A few weeks ago we discussed artists who—for one reason or another—have elected not to make their music available via digital outlets such as iTunes. One of the artists mentioned in that blog post, Bob Seger, has stated that he feels that his songs should only be downloadable as complete albums.

Seger is not alone. Recently, psychedelic rock icons Pink Floyd won a major lawsuit against their record label, EMI. In the suit, Pink Floyd (much like Seger) argued that their music was never intended to be distributed as individual tracks. Their songs, they contended, are part of a greater work of art—the album.

According to spinner.com (and our friends at Sno-Isle’s Collection Development Blog), while this lawsuit was in progress, EMI’s distribution rights to several of Pink Floyd’s post-Dark Side of the Moon albums unceremoniously expired.¹ Because of this, several of the band’s biggest releases (including The Wall and Wish You Were Here) are no longer available for digital download and the physical versions could go out of print in the near future. Their earlier works, including Piper at the Gates of Dawn, will continue to be distributed by EMI.

Fortunately, the evergreen popularity of Pink Floyd will probably ensure that these titles will not be homeless for long. However, libraries interested in purchasing endangered titles may want to do so sooner rather than later as EMI will only be able to sell copies that they currently have in their possession. The following titles and their corresponding stock numbers are available on our website:

• Wish You Were Here (EMM975021C)
• Animals (EMM974826C)
• The Wall (EMM124329C)
• The Final Cut (EMM767342C)

Do you agree with the band that their music should be kept in album format? Or do you think that the band should open up to individual song downloads?

¹http://www.spinner.com/2010/08/17/pink-floyd-withdraw-classic-albums-online/