Apple iTunes offers exclusive Bob Dylan digital pre-order, advance ticket pre-sale

Columbia Records and Apple today announced that the new album “Modern Times” from Bob Dylan will be offered through an exclusive pre-order on the iTunes Music Store. Beginning today, iTunes customers who pre-order “Modern Times” from iTunes for $13.99 will also be offered the opportunity to participate in an exclusive Ticketmaster pre-sale for concert tickets to select dates on Bob Dylan’s upcoming fall tour. Apple has also created an exclusive Bob Dylan digital box set, entitled “The Collection,” that includes all of Bob Dylan’s albums with nearly 800 tracks spanning his career. The Bob Dylan digital box set will be available for purchase and download with just one click for $199, exclusively from iTunes beginning August 29.

“We’re excited to offer Bob Dylan fans this dynamic package through iTunes,” said Steve Barnett, chairman of Columbia Records, in the press release. “Dylan fans are going to be really excited to have the opportunity to pre-order the new album and have access to concert tickets before they go on sale to the public.”

“Bob Dylan is one of the most respected poets and musicians of our time, and he is a personal hero of mine,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, in the press release. “Being able to offer his new album and the exclusive box set of his works on iTunes is a real thrill for us.”

“Modern Times,” set for release on August 29, has already been heralded by critics as, “Epic. Heartbreaking. Dynamic. Apocalyptic,” and “Another classic from the revitalized master.” The iTunes special edition of “Modern Times” includes five Bob Dylan videos: “Cold Irons Bound” (shot live on the film soundstage during the making of “Masked & Anonymous”), “Blood In My Eyes,” “Things Have Changed,” “Love Sick” (from the 1998 Grammy Awards), and the iTunes exclusive “Jokerman.” The iTunes exclusive Bob Dylan digital box set entitled “The Collection” includes every song from each of his studio albums and “The Bootleg Series” releases, plus 42 rarities. Also included with “The Collection” is a special digital booklet featuring liner notes from Grammy Award-winning writer, Tom Piazza.

Beginning today, customers can pre-order a copy of Bob Dylan’s new album “Modern Times” for $13.99 to be downloaded on August 29 when it is released. Bob Dylan fans who pre-order “Modern Times” on iTunes will receive an email with a code that they can use at Ticketmaster.com starting August 30 for an opportunity to participate in a pre-sale to purchase concert tickets before they go on sale to the general public on September 9. Further information about the digital download concert ticket pre-sale is available on Bob Dylan’s official website at http://www.bobdylan.com and http://www.ticketmaster.com/bobdylan and http://www.itunes.com/

The iTunes Music Store currently features a selection of over 9,000 music videos, Pixar and Disney short films, a variety of hit TV shows, and more than three million songs from the major music companies and over 1,000 independent labels.

iTunes 6 for Mac and Windows includes the iTunes Music Store and is available as a free download from http://www.apple.com/itunes/

Purchase and download of songs and videos from the iTunes Music Store requires a valid credit card with a billing address in the country of purchase. Television shows are available in the US only, and video availability varies by country. Television shows are $1.99 (US) per episode, and music videos and short films are $1.99 (US) each.