iTunes Season Pass

iTunes will begin offering a “Season Pass” concept for selling music online. This concept involves an upfront payment by the consumer where content will be provided over a period of time. For example, Depeche Mode now has an iTunes Season Pass available. For $19, fans can purchase this subscription to exclusive Depeche Mode content. This includes early access to new tunes for their upcoming April album, exclusive video content, and even post album release unique content.

More bands are likely to use this concept with iTunes. But will it take off? Is content really that exclusive anymore? Once a new song is released on the internet, it hits all the bit torrent sites and is around the world in minutes. Thus, this “exclusive” content becomes non-exclusive rather quickly.

The better examples of exclusive content that I have seen are when bands sell unique items or experiences that cannot be copied. What about a signed copy of the album? What about spending time before the concert with fans who have paid extra for the opportunity. The other side is to offer an experience. No matter how great a fan’s household sound system, no exclusive video will ever replace the experience of a live show.

I will be curious to see how the Season Pass concept works. I have no doubt that super fans will be all over it. But will there really be a broader market in these times?

Stay tuned,
Erik
erikrostad.com