Music Business

Twitter Adds iTunes Audio Cards with Buy Option

twitter music logoJust hours after we learned that Twitter had partnered with SoundCloud to enable music and audio sharing within time lines in their iOS and Android apps, Apple's iTunes joined the party. And along with easy acces to music triggered by hitting a new play button within the Twitter app, Apple added purchasing the track or album you've previewed just a few clicks away. 

Twitter audio cards could become a very profitable tool for musicians – a 99 cent impulse buy embedded in a social platform driven by immediacy.

A few tweets from key influencers and a new track is at the top of the iTune's chart. But the buy option is also one that Soundcloud is unlikely to offer until it can finalize its much sought after deals with rightsholders. What other audio services will be added to Twitter remains unclear, but it is likely that most major music streamers and download stores will want to be included.

At the moment the Audio Card feature is only available to select creators (full list here), but it will be rolled out to all users "shortly," according to Apple.  Here are some screen shots:

image from awesomescreenshot.com

To inaugurate iTunes' involvement, The Foo Fighters used an Audio Card to Tweet the official release of “Something From Nothing,” the new single from their forthcoming album “Sonic Highways."

image from awesomescreenshot.com

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3 Comments

  1. When debuting new music, artists shouldn’t have to compete with multitasking. If the music is worth anything it’s worth undivided attention. The embeds were just fine, and ultimately this new feature should of eliminated 1 click by making the play button on the tweet, but it over complicated the process by making you have to tap another button to minimize the music which cancels out the only initial benefit. Twitter should focus on aggregating external web links for users to reach a destination dedicated to multi media.

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