From the Yeah-I-Knew-This-Was-Going-To-Happen Department:

Apple’s just dropped the cost of DRM-free, 256kbps AAC tracks from the iTunes Store from US$1.29 to the usual US$.99 per track, making the high-quality iTunes Plus tracks the same price as the regular stuff while “offering audio quality virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings” and free from oppressive digital rights management to boot. (They used to charge a thirty-cent upgrade fee to bump up previously-bought tracks to iTunes Plus level.)

In addition to the EMI catalog of these songs, Apple has added (among other labels) Sub Pop, Nettwerk, Beggars Group, IODA, The Orchard and more. Now at over 2 million tracks, this makes the iTunes Store the largest DRM-Free high-quality online music source thus far.

Hopefully someday soon, it’ll all be like this. And even cheaper.

Late Beatle George Harrison has finally made it onto the iTunes Store as a solo artist, at last completing the Fab Four’s presence there, while not as the group, at least as solo acts.

Harrison was the last holdout, as John Lennon’s tracks recently have made it onto the store. Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney are already on, and Harrison’s presence on the Store hints at the inevitability of an awaited kinda-sorta historic virtual reunion, and the first time that the group will be available online legally.

At the moment, only several Harrison albums are there, most notably a 2001 double-disc remastered version of All Things Must Pass, which includes alternate versions of some of his popular tracks. See them here.

A 13-minute short film by director Wes Anderson called The Hotel Chevalier is now up for free on the iTunes Store, starring Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman. It’s supposed to be a prologue/companion piece to Anderson’s forthcoming film The Darjeeling Limited.

Nice the things you find on iTunes, although Portman fans are specially excited about this one because it marks the first time on film Natalie shows up in her birthday suit, wearing nothing but bruises.

Download it here.

(Hmm. So let’s see you not click on the link now.)

The US retail chain Target is selling a special edition pink iPod shuffle, complete with a US$15 iTunes Store Gift Card for US$79, with a portion of the proceeds of up to US$25,000 going towards The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

It is yet unclear whether or not this is just a clever (and worthy) repackaging, or if it’s a partnership with Apple, but whatever the case may be, we should have more of these.

(Via AppleInsider)

[Quick Aside: As a professional editor, I’m compelled to point out a typo in the product name. Target, “shuffle” is not supposed to be capitalized. The weird Apple Capitalization Rules extends to its other products, which among others states that the second letter is usually the one that should come in caps - iPod, iMac, iTunes, or that words coming after iPod or Mac should never be capitalized - iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod classic, iPod touch, Mac mini.]

Starbucks announced today that they are giving away 1.5 million songs everyday from October 2 to November 7 across its 10,000 branches in the United States, for a total of 50,000,000 by promo’s end.

This is part of the launching of the “Now Playing” arrangement with Apple that allows iPhone or iPod Touch users or those accessing the US iTunes Wifi Store at one of 600 initial Starbucks outlets in New York and Seattle to preview, buy and download the song current playing at the coffee shop as instant gratification. The “Song of The Day” promo will give customers iTunes cards for a complimentary song download for a specific track selected by Starbucks.

The songs will be selected from a wide variety of artists including Bob Dylan, Joss Stone, Dave Matthews, Bebel Gilberto, John Mayer, KT Tunstall, John Legend, Annie Lennox, Joni Mitchell, Keith Urban, Paul McCartney, Sia, Band of Horses, Hilary McRae, Frederico Aubele and Sara Bareilles. Customers have until the end of the year to download their free tracks.