iTunes Store tripling preview durations

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 04 November 2010 14:21

Your IT - Entertainment

It seems Apple is about to extend iTunes Store music samples from 30 seconds to 90 - at least for US customers.

Music distributor Symphonic Distribution revealed yesterday that it had received an email from Apple that stated in part "We are pleased to let you know that we are preparing to increase the length of music previews from 30 seconds to 90 seconds on the iTunes Store in the United States. We believe that giving potential customers more time to listen to your music will lead to more purchases."

The content of the message has apparently been confirmed by Apple.

The change only applies to songs with durations of at least 2.5 minutes. Samples for shorter songs will remain 30 seconds long.

There are no specific indications at this stage that longer previews will spread to iTunes Stores in other countries, although does tend to operate in the same way in each territory.

The US change reportedly follows discussions between Apple and performing rights organisations and other groups. Similar agreements would be needed in other countries before Apple could make the change.

Whether Apple is right in saying that longer samples will lead to more sales remains to be seen. The main advantage may be that it will no longer be necessary for someone to pick the 30-second segment that will be used as a preview - the first 90 seconds of most songs gives a good idea of the complete track.