Behind The Scenes At The iTunes Store: It’s About As Nerdy As You’d Imagine

– As Lily Allen knows all too well, Apple offers front-page priority to artists who provide exclusive tracks. This is standard procedure for digital outlets, but Apple is “especially aggressive and has outsize clout.” – Labels aren’t always thrilled with the practice, but they comply, as an album that’s on the front page “can sell about five times more copies on average through the site than it does in the three to five weeks that follow, when the album isn’t featured.” – In anticipation of Prince’s Super Bowl performance, Rhino and iTunes reduced the price on several of his catalog albums to $7.99; afterward, Soundscan figures for Purple Rain increased fivefold. – The iTunes staff is made up of professional music geeks, including radio DJs, former record-label staffers, and a guy who helped manage Paul Simon’s Graceland tour. And its California headquarters is situated “in a cluster of nondescript cubicles that could easily be confused with a software-development group but for a smattering of music posters on the walls.” – Now that store has started selling TV shows and movies, music staffers have to start lobbying for high-visibility album and artist placement three to six months in advance. The iTunes managers say they refuse to accept payment from labels in exchange for better real estate. – The store’s front page is broken down into the following categories: “Splashes” (the rotating images at the top of the page); “swooshes,” the 8-item that appear right underneath the splashes; and “bricks,” the image-driven buttons that are often used for celebrity playlists and other exclusives. – Steve Jobs is training a legion of cyborg bumblebees in a Nevada canyon, preparing them for a world takeover that should begin in mid-2009.

Music’s New Gatekeeper [WSJ]