iTunes Digital 45s reach Australia

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 28 July 2009 09:48

Opinion and Analysis

I was unimpressed by the Digital 45s initially offered at the US iTunes Store. How does the Australian lineup compare?

When Apple launched the D45 (digital 45) in the US, I wasn't convinced.

The main problem was that in most cases, the promise of "two great tracks" wasn't realised.

Now D45s have arrived at the Australian iTunes Store - do they make the grade?

Local artists featured by Apple include John Farnham, Delta Goodrem, Missy Higgins, Midnight Oil, and Silverchair.

Is Farnham's "Age of Reason" backed by "You're The Voice", "Two Strong Hearts" or "Pressure Down"? No, the B side is 'When The War Is Over'.

And Silverchair's "The Greatest View" is paired with a song with zero popularity on iTunes: "Pins In My Needles".

But there is some good news. Being of a certain age and musical tastes, Alice Cooper's 'School's Out' is one of "my" songs. In D45 format, it comes with a great track that hardly gets any airplay even on 'gold' radio stations: "Gutter Cat vs The Jets".

(And to be fair to Silverchair, I'll admit that both of these songs have zero iTunes popularity ratings!)

Prices are mixed. The Silverchair D45 delivers the B side for no extra charge, and John Farnham's provides two $1.69 songs for $2.19. Although the Alice Cooper tracks also sell for $1.69 each, the D45 price is $2.49.

I still can't envisage (re)buying music from 35 years ago at anything like full price - $4.99 for complete albums might do the trick.

So I repeat my original comment about D45s: "All I'm asking is that they [Apple and the music companies] live up to the promise of "two top-notch tunes for a great price."