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Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: May 22, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: August 29, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: March 27, 2009
Release Date: August 07, 2009

iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: September 20, 2009
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: August 25, 2009

Top 5 Paid Apps

Release Date: April 22, 2009
StickWars $0.99
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Genre: Games
Bloons $0.99
Release Date: April 05, 2009
Genre: Games

Discover New Music

  • One Word Extinguisher

    • 8 out of 10
    • Prefuse 73
    • It's an album about a breakup, done with beats instead of mopey lyrics. But the beats are raw, and the emotions are there, even if there aren't many words on top of it. While possibly not Scott Herren
  • Live at the Magic Bag, Ferndale, MI

    • 6 out of 10
    • Supersuckers
    • Man, there's nothing like good, old fashioned, rock and roll... add a bit of industry resentment to that with a double-shot of cynicism, and you get one of the best "new" rock bands going. This album
  • Guero

    • 10 out of 10
    • Beck
    • Beck is the modern master of the groove, and Guero is merely the latest example of this. From the opening power chords of "E-Pro," to the Pac-Man cuteness of "Girl," to the dirge-like lullab

  • Modern Lovers

    • 10 out of 10
    • Modern Lovers
    • This timeless masterpiece is little known, but it has inspired almost as many bands as The Modern Lovers' own inspiration -- and only slightly better known -- The Velvet Underground & Nico.

  • Supernature

    • 10 out of 10
    • Goldfrapp
    • On their latest CD, Supernature, Goldfrapp has put together a successful mix of 1980-era New Romanticism, German cabaret, and T. Rex glam that leaves you riveted even through the album's lulls. It's a great amalgam that sounds current without sounding at all dated.

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News

Analyst: Impact on Apple From French Law is ‘Minimal’

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster on Tuesday issued a second research report in which he reacted to the French National Assembly's vote on a bill that would open the iTunes Music Store's FairPlay DRM, assessing the impact as "minimal." He expects Apple would rather exit the French market than allow iTunes Music Store purchases to play back on competing MP3 players.

As The Mac Observer reported, the French Parliament on Tuesday approved a bill that would prohibit music from using a proprietary copy protection scheme that limits playback to only one brand of device. While it doesn't force companies to open their DRM formats, it does allow consumers to petition the courts and ask them to impose compliance.

However, the bill must be approved by the French Senate before it goes into law, a process that will take several weeks. While Mr. Munster expects the bill to finally become law, and Apple to react by pulling the iTunes Music Store out of France, he doesn't expect such a move to have a material impact on the company's overall business.

"While ths sounds like a drastic move," he wrote, "we estimate that approximately 20% of iPod and iTunes sales occur outside of the U.S. The French market alone is likely less than 2% of iPod and iTunes business." He believes Apple will take that hit rather than "start what could be a slippery slope of other countries passing similar legislation."

However, even if Apple remained in the country and allowed the FairPlay DRM to become compatible with other devices, Mr. Munster doesn't expect iPod sales to be "measurably impacted."

He added: "The iPod drives demand for online music sales in iTunes and not the other way around. Apple would be at risk to losing some iTunes business if similar laws to the proposed French online copyright bill were passed in other geographies, but it is important to keep in mind that the profitable component of the 'portable device + music service' equation is the portable device and a loss of some portion of music service would not have a dramatic impact on bottom line results."

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