Apple plans to increase the length of iTunes music previews in the United States from 30 to 90 seconds. Apple is battling fiercely against Google Android, RIM and others.
Apple plans to increase the length of its iTunes music previews from 30 to
90 seconds for songs longer than 2 minutes 30 seconds, according to a new
online report.
"We are pleased to let you know we are preparing to increase the length
of music previews from 30 seconds to 90 seconds on the iTunes store in the United
States," reads a letter sent from Apple
to various music labels,
according
to Mashable. "We believe that giving potential customers more time to
listen to your music will lead to more purchases."
Apple later confirmed the news with eWEEK.
As the pipeline for multimedia content to Apple devices, the iTunes service
represents a vital part of the company's ecosystem.
Recent
updates to iTunes include Ping, a social network devoted to music. In
theory, that service leverages iTunes' 160 million registered users, allowing
them to share information about their favorite artists, songs and albums.
Soon after Ping's September unveiling, pundits
debated the service's potential effect on streaming-radio services such as
Last.fm. But with a broader expansion in content or focus, Ping
could also serve as a potential beachhead for Apple into more traditional
social networking.
An expansion in the number of Apple mobile devices also boosts iTunes' user
base. During an Oct. 18 earnings call,
Apple
CEO Steve Jobs insisted that his company is activating a daily average of
270,000 devices running iOS.
For its most recent quarter, Apple posted revenues of $20.34 billion and a
net quarterly profit of $4.31 billion on sales of 14.1 million iPhones, 9.05
million iPods and 3.89 million Macs. The company also sold 4.19 million iPads.
During that same call, Apple focused on its mobile products' expansion into
the enterprise space, the traditional realm of other platforms such as Research
In Motion's BlackBerry. The company claims a higher percentage of the Fortune
500 now accepts the iPhone as part of their IT infrastructure.
"We've now passed RIM, and I don't see them catching up with us in the
immediate future," Jobs told analysts and media during the earnings call. "I
think it's going to be a challenge for them to create a competitive platform. ...
With 300,000 apps in Apple's App Store, RIM has a high mountain to climb."
Jobs also fired a broadside at Google, suggesting Android device activations
lagged behind those for Apple.
However,
a
new report from comScore suggests that RIM holds 40.1 percent of the U.S.
smartphone operating system space, compared with Apple with 24.3 percent and
Google Android with 21.4 percent. Android's current market share represents a
6.5 percent gain from the prior quarter.
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