iMETAL
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 1:30pm by Axl Rosenberg
You know how I know things aren’t all terrible in the metal world right now? The people who run iTunes think there’s enough money to be made that they’ve now created an entire metal section.
Our friend Jen Guyre wrote a piece about the latest addition to iTunes for Noisecreep last week, but I only just it saw myself for the first time this morning. And while, yes, iTunes is kinda lame, it’s really not that bad.
The emphasis, it should go without saying, is on larger releases – new albums from Slayer and Baroness, oldies from Maiden and the umpteenth reissue of Anthrax’s Among the Living, as though that makes up for yet another year without a new studio recording from the band – but I also saw a Fenriz Red Planet/Nattefrost split, a free video download from Halestorm (who I don’t like but I know a lot of you do), and a “classic metal albums for $7.99″ deal, which offered everything from recent releases by 3 Inches of Blood and Kreator to classic albums by Sepultura and Gorgoroth. In other words: they’re not dicking around, and unless you’re talking about making fundamental changes to iTunes overrall, I’m not sure how you would much improve this new feature.
Like it or not, iTunes is where a shit ton of people legally purchase their music these days, and I’m inclined to believe that includes at least some tech-saavy kids who a) aren’t downloading everything illegally for whatever reason but b) really don’t care about physical product, which they view as an antiquated technology. Something like an iTunes metal section could ultimately help spread metal to future generations.
Click here to launch the page and do some explorin’. Then weigh in with your thoughts below.
-AR
WOW. It’s either “flabbergasted” or “dumbfounded” I’m feeling right now. Take your pick, because either word applies.
Never thought I would see this day. Searching for metal on iTunes used to require search techniques I’m convinced are comparable to those used in archaeology. And $7.99 for classic albums isn’t a bad deal.
“Searching for metal on iTunes used to require search techniques I’m convinced are comparable to those used in archaeology.” Goddamn if that’s not the closest description I’ve ever heard on that topic.
As someone who buys nearly all of his music digitally, I’m thrilled to see that iTunes has added a “Heavy Metal” section. (Amazon MP3 has had one for much, much longer.) The $7.99 deals make for a good start, and I hope iTunes is willing to take some chances on lower discounts to turn people on to lesser known and new bands.
When are you gonna just go die?
“The $7.99 deals make for a good start, and I hope iTunes is willing to take some chances on lower discounts to turn people on to lesser known and new bands.”
And for me, that’s the whole point in taking such interest in this. iTunes finally threw us a frickin’ bone here. In response to some of the comments left below, OF COURSE there are better and more comprehensive metal DL sites out there, but the main thing is that iTunes is among the biggest and most prominent of the mainstream retailers. It could quit possibly be a good thing for metal artists to have iTunes on board for properly cataloguing their material and making it available to a larger segment of potential music consumers. And if they discount further…. No telling what kind of impact that would have on extreme music, but I’m hoping for something positive. We need it.
Good for me, cuz i can find new music and sniff around for good metal. They dont sell good metal records where i live, so this is the closest i get.
wow. this is friggin sweeeeeeeet!!!! It always bothered me that br00tal metal albums were in the”rock” category!
It’s pretty awesome what they’re giving you: METAL movies, Metal podcasts, the roots of heavy METAL, METAL legends lol, etc.
This is a great day for metal. Rejoice!
P.S. I’m still breathlessly waiting for someone to start shit talking this awesomeness…
Well (in the UK store) hollywood undead in the “best of 2009 so far” under metal, what…
well I guess the UK sucks lol
even I’m gonna agree here
Zune still lists Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Emmure as part of its metal section.
Zune fucking sucks.
As soon as you said Zune, you lost all credibility.
The Zune software is better than iTunes, and the Zune is better than an iPod. I can’t attest to the purchasing of music from the software, because I don’t use it for that.
Dude knows his shit, Zune SW has a great selection, but the labels are a little off.
hey guys have you ever tried mp3fiesta or mp3panda…… classic album are about 50 cents and they also have a metal saction…
worth checking out…
Yes, and for the most part they are reliable. However, I have run into incomplete mp3s and mislabeled mp3s on the site. Sound quality can also vary, but, as you state, full albums run about 50 cents each, so it’s worth checking out.
50 cents for incomplete, mislabelled, poor quality music ? Bullshit, these sites are most likely illegal and fucking pointless ! 50cents is just like free so you might as well just steal the music, because, assuming this sites even pay royalties, 10-20% from 50cents is nothing. So FUCK OFF you spammers !
iMetal ain’t a bad name for a band.
No, it’s a terrible name for a band. Seriously. It’s like an amalgamation of Soulja Boy, Metallica and AIDS.
+1
As long as it’s sorted out to prevent all the fail-core bands from being included, good for iTunes
Fail-core sells. It’ll be on there. Don’t give a shit. I don’t, so you shouldn’t either.
i thought this was cool until i saw Steel Panter and Rob Halford’s Christmas songs on the top of my screen…
Stop being trying to be so serious and enjoy the music. Christmas For Everyone was an awesome song.
Screw iTunes – buy from Amazon. Cheaper, better quality, standard mp3 format, and you’re not bankrolling Steve Jobs monarchy.
Personally, I think iTunes is great for purchasing albums I can’t find anywhere in stores. And as far as the metal section goes, it’s about damn time.
That’s awesome. iMetal!
Not avaliable in the UK!!!!
Dude it’s been available here for months!
Why bother with iTunes if we have Play.com ?
Because I want it NOW! Just kidding, there really is no point is there…?
Well its not yet available in the Australia store… well it kinda makes sense to have a genre called metal in the itunes store… in australia bands like amon amarth and gorgoroth are listed under “Rock” How laaaame….
Yeah, saw this last week. Wasn’t too impressed… it’s iTunes.
I’ve been bitching about iTunes not having its own metal section for years, and they’ve got a start. However, they still don’t list metal as a genre in the drop down menu on the top left.
The only time itunes is useful is when they have exclusive itunes only bonus tracks. Anyone searching and finding new bands through itunes is wasting time and money. Not including the countless metal mp3 blogs dedicated to every genre of music distributing underground band demos, Last.fm is a great way to find artists for free and it beats the shit out of iTunes genius and whatever Zune uses.
CD=FLAC>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>MP3/AAC
I think I need to go take an iPoop.
On a serious note, at least they are trying.
It’s great iTunes is making some initiative on this. However, for the uninformed, I launched Metalhit.com two years ago to provide an exclusive digital music resource for extreme underground metal. We sell WAV files in our store, no compressed BS and no DRM. In addition to this, more money from sales goes to the bands and labels than the bands and labels make through iTunes. It’s a win-win scenario for the community in general, and it’s a filter from all the mainstream crap out there.
Just had a quick look and all I can see is MP3s albeit 320kbps. Slightly better than the horribly compressed stuff that iTunes offers but still not quite FLAC quality.
THERE you are! I wondered if you read this site and participated here. I read about MetalHits in the Jul/Aug Hails & Horns and meant to cite your business model as an example in the many and varied record label debates that have sprung up here lately (particularly, the last Blogronaut); however, life happens and I never got back around to it. But anyway, you should go weigh in on those debates because you certainly seem to have a different perspective on the question “What are metal labels good for anymore?” than do most people.
BTW, vinyl and the CD cannot die without giving me something else to stand in their place and it will NOT be more digital downloads. Just saying.
How do you get those convenient scroll arrows in the picture; the way the iTunes music store used to be? I can’t find the option to get it back, and I would have to assume there is one because I’m fairly certain they created the metal section AFTER they butchered the store layout.
Or does just using iTunes 8 also revert the store back to it’s previous state of usability?
Torrents, torrents, torrents. My musical tastes encompass way too many genres to actually purchase all the overpriced vinyls and crap that bands put out, so I only buy my favorites. Torrents.
Meh. I’ve known about this for a while, and though some of these are great deals, you just have to poke your nose around and you’ll find almost all the metal bands you’ve ever heard of (and probably a lot you haven’t heard of as well) on here. If it’s an up-and-coming band with only one song though, you’ll probably need to know exactly the name and song, and even then they still might not have it. The quality, as I saw discussed above, itsn’t much different from the CD quality at all.
I downloaded Blood and Thunder off of iTunes, and then decided to go ahead and buy the full album. Was there a difference? Not as far as I could tell.
There already is a killer METAL Download site. Check it out.
http://www.loudtrax.com
iTunes is for browsing music without wasting time downloading crap, you know. Not just this notion of downloading everything that you have
Hi guys,
we launched a rock, metal, punk only download store this summer and are gearing up for the full version in a few weeks. Site is http://www.loudtrax.com (thanks to Rock Johnson for mentioning it….)
Some great labels are on the site, like Metal Blade, Magna Carta, Relapse, Candlelight, etc…. We are in the midst of uploading the entire Roadrunner and Warner Music catalog. Our team is working hard on supporting local artists as well as running various promos with bands (free autographed cds, t-shirts, etc…)
I can tell you that our site has 22 sub genres, we are fans of metal and go in and do our best to properly file release and bands in the proper sections.
Tell me what you think. antoniomarsillo@loudtrax.com
we welcome feedback for our fellow Metal heads.
Best
Antonio / LoudTrax.com