Apple has become one of the world’s largest companies by focusing on user experience. They design hardware and software that looks as good as it functions. Visual aesthetic has always been a massive part of its USP.

So how does this ethos apply to iTunes? Look closely at any music product pages in the iTunes store library and notice the consistency. Everything from the use of capitalisation on an album title, to how a featured artist or remixer is listed, to the standard of artwork and audio are all subject to the strictest quality control, aimed at ensuring the best possible user experience.

As part of this QC process, Apple grades all aggregators (suppliers). Every month we receive a report from Apple on the standard of our deliveries.

The more our deliveries meet Apple’s exacting standards;

The fewer releases are subject to quality control interrogation

The quicker our releases appear on the iTunes store

Over the past 18 months we have been busy refining our label management systems. Each release is now individually proofed by an experienced label manager. If a release doesn’t reach our technical QC standards, it is sent back to the label for revision. This system of proofing and revising continues until we arrive at a release that is fit for delivery and release.

As a result, Kudos is proud to announce that we are among the first iTunes aggregators to achieve a quality control score high enough to bypass pre-store quality control entirely.

We are committed to ensuring our distributed releases are of the highest quality, not just in terms of the music itself but also how they are presented . We believe this attention to detail helps our labels’ releases distinguish themselves in a crowded digital marketplace.

iTunes Pre-order enhancements

In other Itunes related news, Apple have enhanced some or the promotional tools available during the preorder period.

Instant Gratification
Labels can now designate up to 50% of the tracks on a presale release as “Instant Gratification” tracks. These track(s) are available for download immediately when a customer places a pre-order, with the rest of the album delivered on the release date.

Pre-Order only tracks.
Labels can designate a track as “pre-order only”. As you might have guessed, pre-order only tracks are bonus tracks which are only available to customers who pre-order the album. Note that pre-order only tracks must be the last tracks on the album.

Pre-order price incentives.
Labels can now offer a special discount during the pre-order period.

To take advantage of any of theses, please speak to your Kudos label manager before you set up your release.