“U2 and Apple are apparently collaborating on a new, “interactive format for music”, due to launch in ‘about 18 months,'” Sean Michaels reports for The Guardian. “Bono spoke to TIME about a new tech scheme which ‘can’t be pirated’ and will reimagine the role of album artwork.”
“Although initial reports compared the project to Neil Young’s Pono, or to Apple’s early DRM-restricted FairPlay files,” Michaels reports, “Billboard reports that this is a bit of a misunderstanding. ‘It’s not a new format, but rather a new way to package and present an album,’ said an unnamed source ‘with knowledge of the situation.’ ‘This is focused on creative advances, versus shifts in technology.'”
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“Apple has tread this path before, in the music and film industries, through its iTunes LP and iTunes Extras formats,” Andrew Flanagan reports for Billboard. “iTunes LP, introduced in 2009, gave labels and artists an extra creative arm for the presentation of digital albums, with exclusive material like interactive artwork. iTunes Extras offered similar functionality for films, with exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes materials.”
Flanagan reports, “The forthcoming new product from Apple and U2 can be expected to further LP and Extras in significant ways — in the TIME feature, Bono mentions that the format will be television-ready — though exactly how can be left, for now, to the imagination.”
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Apple and U2 working on secret project to save the music industry – September 18, 2014