iTunes Connect

iTunes Connect is the way you can publish your own music, books, or podcasts on iTunes. Register and submit your works, and become an author sold on iTunes. You don’t have to download iTunes Connect, because it’s a web service, but there is much to learn about it. But you may need an app named iTunes Producer.

Design 5/5

It’s a web app, made according to all the guidelines Apple promotes on its site. It’s supported on all platforms, though the result will only be available to Apple users. The pages are completely given to the interface, with no spare details, no ads, and no irrelevant data and links. It’s all crystal white and clear – we only wish all the legal procedures required were as crystal clear.

Usability 4/5

Who said doing business with Apple is easy as an apple pie? The service has its requirements you better read. For example, a music publisher should have at least 20 albums in the catalog, and a writer cannot start with a single book either. You should also own the rights to distribute it.

If you reside outside the US, all these legal works can take even more time than creating your content. So Apple can recommend you its authorized mediators you can negotiate with to get your content on iTunes.

Podcasts are the easiest thing to start with. One can do a podcast without assistance, and uploading it is a matter of minutes. The greatest challenge is making it interesting to listen to. As for books and music, they require more labor, and legal requirements are more serious. But if you decided on your agent or manager career, you have to deal with this, and iTunes Connect is a perfect polygon to train.

Features 5/5

After all the procedures are complete, you can start uploading and publishing your art pieces. The service provides analytics, stats, reports on views and sales. You can also selectively set up access to your products if you don’t want it available in some countries or don’t own respective rights.

In-app purchases 5/5

The Producer app, as well as Connect service, is free. On the other hand, Apple gets a share of your earnings, and you only receive your reward when you sell a certain number of books, audios, or videos. So the company can afford running this service.

Conclusion

Media success for today’s author is mostly an iTunes success. No matter if you write books, produce videos, or record music, you need to be here. If you are a manager of an artist or an artist that hires no manager, you’ll need to download Apple Producer and master iTunes Connect.

• Graphics 5
• Gameplay 4
• Controls 5
• Replay Value 5

Pros

Open to everyone with American tax ID;
Easy to make out;
Requires no third person, as you can upload and sell on your own;
iTunes Producer lets you publish your books with no assistance.

Cons

Requirements are quite hard for an author or a label;
Legal preparations can take more time and effort than creating and publishing your content.