While Apple is busy charging you $1.29 for the latest and greatest chart toppers, Amazon has taken the opposite approach by setting the bar pretty low at just $0.69 for many MP3s on the Amazon MP3 store. Amazon also offers many popular albums at just $5. Add those two facts together and compare to Apple’s premium pricing. Do you get what you pay for?

Apparently, Jon Bon Jovi has had enough of Charlie Sheen stealing the celebrity idiot spotlight. In an interview with The Sunday Times Magazine, Bon Jovi claimed, “Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business.” And just how did he do it? With things like music previews, album extras like music videos and apparently less allowance from daddy.

With the recent unveiling of Ping and the announcement of the streamlined Apple TV, Apple has pushed even deeper into the realm of media delivery and promotion. We at Appletell, therefore, feel it’s time we embraced this increasingly important aspect of Apple’s bottom line, and will therefore start to review not only the hardware and software used to deliver the media, but the content itself. And so, we start in music, and we start in the East.

Making an iMix is a great way to share your exquisite taste in music. Once it is up you can show it off to your friends and family, and promote your favorite artists. What’s more, if you’ve created a Playlist in iTunes, you’ve already done half the work. Apple makes it easy to share your playlist through the iTunes Music Store, so if you want to make one, just follow these easy steps…

Since the announcement of the entire iTunes Store having iTunes Plus, all songs downloaded are/will be technically compatible with all MP3 players, as iTunes Plus files do not contain DRM. Due to the removal of DRM, Norway has dropped it’s complaint against iTunes, which argued that songs downloaded from iTunes were only compatible with one player by one company, creating an unfair market.

“Visionary” is a word that gets thrown around a lot, especially in the tech world. Anyone who suggest anything different from the status quo is hailed as one, and if they’re wrong, well, who remembers? But Greg Sandoval of Cnet stumbled across an interview that Steve Jobs gave to Rolling Stone in 2003, outlining his vision for the then-new iTunes music store. Steve lays out his “vision” on how the online music business will play out with his customary confidence and startling clarity, and it turns out he was pretty much on the money.

Now it’s possible to update your previously purchased iTunes songs to iTunes plus without upgrading them all. In the past, it was all or nothing, take it or leave it, which could prove to be quite costly if you have a large Library of songs purchased from iTunes. iTunes Plus songs offer a higher bitrate and are DRM free. At $.30 a track, it’s likely worth it for some of your songs. And now, “some of your songs” is an option.

If you happen to navigate your mouse up to the Apple in the top left hand corner of your screen and check for updates, you’ll find the iTunes 8.0.2 update waiting for you. Although this may seem like just another update to you, many people feel as if it is another hint at the soon-to-come iPhone 2.2 Software update.

That said, this update—which “improves stability and performance and provides a number of important bug fixes,” as usual—also contains some specific fixes.

According to two of CNet’s music industry sources, Apple is currently in negotiations with three major music labels about getting more DRM free content onto their iTunes Plus Store. It was a long year ago that Apple signed a deal with EMI to get their content onto iTunes Plus. Although Apple and the music label more »

It appears as if Apple wants to help your wallet out during this not so good economy. With their new iTunes sections called “This Week’s Great Movies Under $5″ and “This Week’s Great Albums Under $5,” iTunes Store users will now be able to browse through a nice category of limited time, cheaper digital downloads. more »