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'American Idol' rules iTunes

Apr 16, 2008, 08:52 AM | by Shirley Halperin

Categories: American Idol, Music, Music Biz, Television

iTunes doesn’t include live individual American Idol performances or recordings in its weekly chart of the most downloaded songs, but if the online music retailer did, the Idols would likely be landing near the top. Just consider the artists they’ve covered: After David Cook name-checked Chris Cornell’s version of “Billie Jean,” sales jumped from 224 to 14,861 weekly downloads, while Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah,” sung by Jason Castro, shot to the top of the charts with sales of 174,553. As for video performances, after April 9’s Idol Gives Back, six clips hit the top 10, including the Idols’ opening number cover of Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music,” which went all the way to No. 1, beating new videos by Madonna and Mariah Carey. Apple's iTunes store was recently named the top music retailer in the country, surpassing Wal-Mart for the first time. Could Idol be the reason why? 

StaleCake Fri, Apr 18, 2008 at 05:51 PM EST

SHIRLEY - I second H2's question. We were asking the same thing the other night, I bought a Jason Castro single and wondered if he gets anything aside from glory. Do the contestants make any money off their own individual song sales? Is there any royalty program for songs that outlast their contestants?

Kathy Fri, Apr 18, 2008 at 12:06 AM EST

This is the absolute best IDOL year ever. I love that each contestant has a different take on music and we are getting real variety and talent in their songs. Thanks IDOL job well Done!

H2 Thu, Apr 17, 2008 at 01:38 AM EST

Can someone please tell me who gets the money from the iTunes sales? Is it American Idol (i.e. Fox) or the contestant or 19 or some combination? I'm not talking (so much) about the group performances but their individual songs? Oh, and I realise the IGB proceeds go to charity ... TIA

I'm Pretty Sure This Makes Me A Loser... Wed, Apr 16, 2008 at 07:20 PM EST

This is pretty embarrassing to admit, but I went out and bought an iPod specifically because I wanted AI performances and my MP3 was not compatible with iTunes. Even more shameful: I splurged for an iTouch so I could have a bigger video screen with which to watch David Cook videos. He's kind of dreamy, combover or not.

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