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Matt Elliott/CNET
I built up a large iTunes music collection over the years and dutifully organized it and added to it, but I hardly touch it anymore thanks to streaming services Spotify and Beats Music . I happily pay their monthly fees for access to collections of music that puts my music in iTunes to shame.
Sony hopes to keep you from moving from music purchaser to music streamer — or perhaps win you back as a purchaser if you have already made the streaming leap — with its Album of the Day app. The app is free and iOS only, available for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Album of the Day was developed by Sony Music Entertainment Germany and was launched there in March. Yesterday, Sony released it in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the US, and the UK. According to Sony, the Album of the Day has featured such Sony artists as Kings of Leon, Justin Timberlake, One Direction, John Legend, Billy Joel, Simon & Garfunkel, Kelly Clarkson, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Pink, Bob Dylan, The Script, Usher, Meat Loaf, Sade, and Alicia Keys.
The app offers one discounted album per day. Today in the US, Michael Jackson’s posthumous album Xscape is discounted from $9.99 to $5.99. The app is attractive, displaying full-screen album art. It also features a timer that counts down the time left in daily deal. And when you first launch the app, it offers to activate push notifications so you’ll receive an alert with each new deal.
Album of the Day features five buttons. Tap the back arrow in the upper-left corner (or swipe to the right) to scroll through past deals that have expired. Tap the “i” button to read a description of an album. The share button lets you tell friends and followers about the deal via text, email, Twitter, or Facebook. Tap the headphones button to listen to 30-second previews of the album’s tracks. Lastly, tap the iTunes button in the lower-right corner to be taken to the iTunes Store where you can download the album at its discounted price.
