Apple has teamed up with a well-known concert promoter Live Nation to provide exclusive recordings of live performances via the iTunes Store. The newly setup iTunes page dubbed “Live Nation Presents” says the following about the initiative:

In the past few years, Live Nation has put some of the best concerts and tours around, producing over 22,000 live events annually while working with some of the top artists in the world and managing some of the best known venues. Now you can get amazing concert recordings from Live Nation venues and tours on iTunes. Below you’ll find live sets from an eclectic array of artists captured from their live shows around the world. For more information on all Live Nation venues and shows, go to livenation.com

The “Live Nation Presents” iTunes page featured several exclusive performances at press time, including recordings from OK Go, Ziggy Marley, Hillary Duff, Plain White T’s, and Duffy. The Live Nation Studios division is responsible for recording artists’ live performances, shooting tours, and capturing other exclusive content.


Christian’s Opinion

There’s no doubt that music fans will appreciate this latest addition that takes the music section of the iTunes Store well beyond individual songs and albums. Earlier this summer Apple debuted iTunes D45, a digital version of the two-song 45rpm vinyl record. Early September Apple unveiled a new digital album format dubbed iTunes LP as part of the iTunes 9 upgrade. The company has also enabled the Live Music section that carries live albums and even concert films. The varied music content and the sheer size of its 11 million strong song catalogue have helped iTunes become the #1 music reseller in the US.

Apple’s online-only store now sells more music than Walmart’s combined physical and digital music sales. The NPD Group estimated iTunes’ share of the U.S. music market this summer at a whopping 25 percent versus Walmart’s 14 percent share. NPD estimated digital music downloads at 35 percent of total sales, with iTunes commanding 69 percent of the download market.