Depeche Mode Unveils New iTunes Season Pass

In a first for musicians on iTunes, yesterday Depeche Mode released an iTunes Season Pass. Season passes have been in place for years on iTunes for various tv shows.  They allow iTunes users who pay a one time fee, usually anywhere from $9.99 to as high as $49.99, to download new episodes of the shows as they become available.  It has reportedly been a successful platform for iTunes, but this is the first time the concept has been tried with music.

So what do you get with the Depeche Mode season pass? Upon signing up for the $19 subscription, users immediately receive the band’s new single “Wrong” as well as a remixed version of “Oh Well.”  In the months leading up to the April 21st release of Depeche Mode’s new album, Sounds of the Universe, subscribers will receive additional new music and videos and, of course, a digital copy of the full album upon its release.  But most interestingly, the season pass also promises content after the release of the album.  Does that mean live tracks from the subsequent tour?  Maybe a few B-sides?  Ticket pre-sales?  Who knows?

This is certainly an interesting move and likely a step in the right direction when it comes to justifying paying hard earned cash for digital files you can just as easily download for free. But there is room for controversy here. Will people who purchase the new album on CD or vinyl also have access to all of this content?  Will they be able to pay a smaller fee for just the extra content if they already own the album? Will people just upload the extras to the Internet right along with the album? It will be interesting to see how this plays out. What do you think? Would the promise of a potential year’s worth of extra goodies be enough to entice you into paying for an album on iTunes?

Source: Billboard.com