Apple launches iTunes 4.5
p2pnet.net News:- In its Happy Birthday to iTunes statement, Apple has announced an upgrade to 4.5 which includes WMA tracks sans DRM (digital rights management) which means they can now be re-encoded in AAC format.
It says its catalogue now includes 700,000 songs from the Big Five labels and 450 independent music labels.
* "iMix," so users can publish playlists on the iTunes Music Store for other users to preview, rate (and buy)
* "Party Shuffle," a new playlist that automatically chooses songs from a user’s music library, displays just-played and upcoming songs and allows users to add, delete and rearrange upcoming songs on the fly
* Radio Charts from more than 1,000 radio stations, enabling users to find (and buy) the top songs played on local radio stations in major US markets [Does this mean Clear Channel? Just asking - Ed] (and buy) directly from the charts
* A new Music Video section featuring a Movie Trailer section and links to (buy) songs from related soundtrack or audiobooks
* The ‘rights’ to play songs bought on the iTunes Music Store, including songs already paid for, on up to five PCs
* The ability to create and print CD jewel case inserts for albums or compilation discs, combining album art and track lists from templates: "For compilation CDs, iTunes will automatically generate a mosaic of album covers based on the chosen songs:
* Automatic WMA to AAC conversion
Apple is also offering a free song of the day for the next eight days "from artists who have helped make iTunes a runaway success".
