Apple and Ticketmaster have hooked up for a new promotion. Buyers of concert tickets can get the matching artist's album from the iTunes store for $1 off. Ticketmaster had already offered iTunes affiliate links on its site, which passes a kickback to Ticketmaster for any resulting sales. Additionally, a gift-card pack will be sold with a pair of $25 cards, one for Ticketmaster and one for iTunes. Last month, Ticketmaster gave away 5 free iTunes song credits to anyone who joined its Facebook group. No word on if you can be a "fan" of Ticketmaster on Facebook yet — or if anyone would "fan" the much-hated ticketing conglomerate without bribery.

Time has named Apple's iPhone its invention of the year. The iPhone is a big deal, but not for any of the reasons Time cites. The nonrelease of the Googlephone just highlights what Apple gets about consumers, and what Google doesn't. Apple knows how to design not just gadgets, but the businesses that go around them. And as a result, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple is worth more than Google within two years.

You'll recall NBC's noisy departure from Apple's iTunes store in August. First we heard the problem was that NBC had asked Apple to raise per-episode prices to $2.99. Then, we heard Apple advocated cutting prices to 99 cents a show, arguing that volume would make up for lost profits. Now, NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker reveals he misplayed the negotiations even more than we could have imagined. He asked for a piece of Apple's iPod hardware sales.

Warner Music is threatening to pull out of Apple's iTunes, continuing the trend started by an angsty Universal Music Group. Record labels and Hollywood studios alike are upset by Apple's inflexibility on pricing. Warner's contract is up at year's end, and is considering a switch to a month-to-month deal, as Universal has done. [Washington Post]

Hotel Chevalier, a 13-minute short film from director Wes Anderson starring that kid from Rushmore and wannabe lifecaster Natalie Portman, has been pulled from iTunes, the only official place to download the film. It was originally released as a promotional item for Anderson's latest release, The Darjeeling Limited. Hotel Chevalier serves as a prelude to the feature and is most notable for showcasing Natalie Portman's first nude scene. But now, when you search on iTunes for "Hotel Chevalier," nothing is returned, and clicking on the iTunes link on the film's official home page displays the error message above. We're not quite sure, yet, why it's unavailable from the Apple store (Apple PR has not returned a call for comment), but Peter Kafka at Silicon Alley Insider thinks the move was made because the short film might be heading to theaters. After the jump, a gratuitous screenshot of a semi-nude Portman from the film.

ITunes is exclusively offering Led Zeppelin's digital box set (includes all of the band's recorded tracks) for preorder. The $99 bundle of 165 songs works out to 60 cents a — ahem — pop. Who says Apple isn't willing to be flexible with its pricing? [Ars Technica]

So Apple is worth more than IBM and the iPhone is just as much a success as all the hype would have you believe. Sick of it? Well take heart, Apple-loathers. The New York Times reports Apple's iTunes store is failing to sell films as well as the company had hoped. Apple "is in a little bit of a crisis now," Forrester analyst James McQuivey tells the Times. "If they can't get the content soon they stand to lose whatever momentum they've gained." (Photo by daniel_cosman)

Australians will miss out on yesterday's iTunes price cut. Add it to the list of antipodal deficiencies: properly arranged seasons, counterclockwise toilet flushes, and correctly pronounced consonants. [Sydney Morning Herald]

While beating up ruffians, Bruce Willis doesn't have time to rip and encode his movies, nor deal with the copy-protected gunk served on iTunes. Fox has wised up and is offering a special two-for-one Live Free or Die Hard deal: The DVD will contain a DRM-free digital copy of the film meant for playback on computers and portable video players. [Techdirt]

The ITunes Store is no longer charging a premium for its DRM-free songs, also known as iTunes Plus. Prices now match its current catalog of 99-cent singles, and users are no longer confronted by an annoying pop-up. The trivial observation to make is that Amazon.com forced Apple's hand by charging 99 cents for DRM-free MP3 files. But far more likely? Consumers made their disinterest in overpriced, annoying-to-download files clear by simply avoiding them, and Apple realized it had to cut the price. This, of course, doesn't bode well for record labels' plans to charge higher prices for hit songs. [Ars Technica]

Doug Morris, head of Universal Music, the most powerful of the four major record-label groups, thinks he has a plan to reclaim the music industry from Apple, maker of the iPod and iTunes. There are scant details and the plan is in flux, but the basic idea, dubbed Total Music, is this: All of the studios will pool their content for online distribution and share in the revenue. The service will be a subscription subsidized by any form of provider: device manufacturers, music stores, cellphone carriers, whomever. The consumer doesn't have to pay for a music service because it's baked in, the music industry finally gets the revenue stream that they've been missing. But we're skeptical.

On Friday we wrote about Facebook launching a possible iTunes competitor. We've now found a new, more compelling rumor from Rafat Ali of PaidContent. Instead of a music store, Facebook is said to be launching an artist platform to compete with MySpace's musician-friendly profile pages — a feature that has been a huge part of the social network's growth. Ali says that the platform includes iTunes integration for buying music through Apple's store, special profiles for bands, and unique widgets for music promotion, tour dates, and more, all within the clean Facebook interface.

Anyone recall Rick Rubin's rant about digital music and how we need to sign up for a subscription service powered by cable providers — similar to the mumbo jumbo Bill Gates proposes for the Zune? Well, surprisingly, Time Warner Cable has taken Rubin's bait and jumped straight into the fray with Road Runner Music. For $9.95 a month, you get unlimited access to streaming music. It also will sell digital downloads through its store, and allow you to transfer files onto portables for an additional fee. With all these new entries into digital music distribution — real and rumored — it'll be interesting to see if Apple caves to market pressure and either allows flexible pricing on iTunes, as the labels have asked for, or a subscription plan, to stay competitive.

Allfacebook.com is reporting a rumor that Facebook will take on Apple's dominant iTunes by introducing its own music store. Few details are provided, save that they are actively looking to hire someone to head the project and discussions with studios have been ongoing. Music applications such as iLike are popular on the social network, and digital music is a natural fit with the site's original college-kid demographic. But could Facebook really pull this off? At this point, we don't really know what a Facebook music store would be. We do know, however, what it's not.

All the record-label kevetching that the Internet is killing their livelihood may actually be true. But it's not college kids sharing files in broadband-equipped dorms that they need to worry about. Radiohead is releasing its new album sans label. Novel, but the interesting bit is that the band is giving a choice to consumers: Pay $82 for a super-fancy, boxed edition of In Rainbows, or download the album — for whatever you think it's worth. This follows a similar campaign by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails who says once his band's label obligations are completed, it will release digital albums for about $4. Of course it's not just the music industry that should be concerned.

Well, maybe not everyone. But the tide is certainly turning against Apple's music and video store, which has held a near-monopoly on digital media distribution. Vivendi says the contract between its Universal Music Group and Apple is "indecent." We like the sound of that, but somehow it doesn't sound like Vivendi meant it as a compliment. Like NBC Universal, in which it holds a minority stake, Vivendi wants more control over pricing — the option to charge more for new, in-demand content than old library tracks. While Apple has a few stalwart supporters, like Fox, at the moment, it's likely that many content providers are waiting for enough key players to take the plunge before determining whether to abandon ship or demand more flexibility. Particularly if they're getting a better deal from Apple's new competitor, AmazonMP3.

The Internet retailer has finally launched its long-awaited digital music store as a public beta, with prices that undercut Apple's iTunes by a dime. The music also comes free of digital-rights-management software, which raises the question: What will Boing Boing editor and anti-DRM crusader Cory Doctorow do with all his free time? [Amazon]

Apple's shiny white posterior has been bruised and tarnished today. First there's some whining over iTunes being offline. Then CEO Steve Jobs was subpoenaed to testify in the SEC's lawsuit against Nancy Heinen, who allegedly backdated stock-option grants. Apple was than accused of cavorting with "the most cock-thirsty and money-grubbing conglomerates in the United States" — that is, Hollywood studios. And then there's this sob story: Apple is blocking hacked iPhones. Maybe all these headlines will finally get the Apple devout to realize that Steve Jobs is not their best pal. Rather, he's the figurehead of a corporate entity trying to make money. It's like keeping a crocodile as a pet. It looks cute, sure, but eventually it's going to try to bite off your hand. And can you blame it? It's just hungry. (Photo by Daniel Shaw-Cosman)

NBC has announced yet another new video product — and left behind a wake of confusion. NBC Direct, which is launching this fall, will offer ad-supported downloads of its popular properties that can be viewed up to a week after they air on television. A convenient feature for anyone wanting to watch the shows on their time, for free. But NBC's video strategy, since its break up with iTunes, is exploratory at best. It's testing out this download service, while selling episodes on Amazon Unbox, and presumably continues to offer streaming content from its website. And what's to happen to Hulu.com, its YouTube-killing venture with News Corp.? It looks like someone can't make up his mind, or is taking the precaution of not putting all its video eggs in one basket.

From the mailbag: "Hey gawker folks — can you put up a blurb about how the iTunes store is down, and hasn't been working since Tuesday? Downloads disappear, you can't download them, but your credit card still gets charged. the iTunes store's customer service people insist that there isn't a problem... I hate that Apple makes crack addicts out of us all, then takes away our supply. Grrr." Sure thing! Also, why aren't you just illegally downloading music for free like everyone else?