Apple has informed its music distribution and label partners that it will be extending the length of preview clips offered on the iTunes Store from 30 seconds to 90 seconds. The blog Symphonic Distribution quotes Apple as saying, “We are pleased to let you know that we are preparing to increase the length of music previews from 30 seconds to 90 seconds on the iTunes Store in the United States. We believe that giving potential customers more time to listen to your music will lead to more purchases.”
Mac Rumors has posted a copy of the iTunes Connect notice sent to label representatives, which explains that the 90 second previews will only apply to songs longer than 2 minutes and 30 seconds in length, and states that by continuing to offer their music on the iTunes Store, the labels are indicating acceptance of the new terms. Notably, this means that any label not wishing to participate will need to pull their music from the store; it currently unknown when Apple will begin its rollout of the longer previews for customers.
Awesome, I always thought that 30 seconds really wasn’t long enough.