But Apple last week threw its weight behind efforts to protect the record industry’s profitable album format, launching a service that lets users buy complete albums online without having to pay for the songs they already own.
Internet download sites and new digital formats have played havoc with albums. CD sales have been on the slump for years and users had become used to downloading individual songs rather than complete albums.
Apple has announced its Complete My Album service through iTunes, in which customers are allowed to turn their individual tracks into a complete album at a reduced price by giving them a US99 cents (A$1.21) credit for every track they had previously purchased from that album.
Complete My Album also gives customers up to 180 days after purchasing an individual track to buy the whole album at a reduced price.
“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 Apple’s iTunes vice-president Eddy Cue.
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