Apple denies $10K iTunes LP production fee

Following a report from last week indicating that Apple was barring independent labels from releasing iTunes LP-formatted albums and charging a $10,000 production fee to create the associated files, the company has responded saying the prior accusations were false. Brian McKinney of Chocolate Lab Records was the originator of the prior information, and later contacted MusicWeek to add, “I should note that it is currently possible to design an iTunes LP independently. I’ve tested a couple designs on iTunes and they work great. The problem is that Apple won’t let you sell them through their store. So, the $10,000 production fee isn’t the barrier, it’s the exclusion of indie labels and artists by Apple. We love iTunes, hate exclusion. Hopefully that will change. Hopefully we will speed up the process.” An Apple iTunes spokesman dispelled the notion of any production fee in a later email, stating, “There is no production fee charged by Apple[.] We’re releasing the open specs for iTunes LP soon, allowing both major and indie labels to create their own.” Apple launched the iTunes LP format alongside iTunes 9 at its Rock and Roll media event on September 9.