July 19, 2010

iTunes LP

When you download an album from the iTunes Store that includes an iTunes LP, you'll find an immersive visual experience that comes loaded with bonus features related to your album. It will appear in your library as a new icon on the album cover if you are in Grid View, or as the first track when viewing the songs from the album. Double-click on the track as if you want to play it (just as you would any other track in your library), and view the menu. From there, you can choose to play the album or browse the bonus items, which -- depending on the album -- can include liner notes, photos, lyrics, album credits, bios, band interviews, music videos, tour footage, and more.

In the iTunes Store, just look for the blue iTunes LP badge to find out which albums come with these bonus features (or to view all iTunes LP albums, click the iTunes LP Quick Link on the iTunes main page or music page). In your library, identify the special iTunes LP tracks by the small booklet icon that appears to the right of the first track name on the album. You can quickly find all the iTunes LP tracks you have by typing "iTunes LP" in the search box in the top right corner of iTunes when your Music library is selected, and you can easily gather them in one place by creating a Smart Playlist.

To do that, first select New Smart Playlist from the File menu. Then select Kind from the first drop-down menu, make sure the second drop-down menu says "contains", enter "iTunes LP" into the text field, and click OK. Your new iTunes LP playlist will appear under Playlists on the left side of your iTunes window.