Ever look for the timeless AC/DC song “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” on iTunes? Or how about “Highway to Hell” or “Back in Black”? Heck, you can’t even find the super-hit “You Shook Me All Night Long.” Why is that? Besides being generally slow to embrace the digital music era, AC/DC and their representatives feel that iTunes has taken far to large a piece of the music distribution pie. But they’ve struck an agreement with Verizon that suits their tastes. When you walk into a record store, can you say, “Yes, I’d like two songs from that album, but not the rest of it,”? Of course not. You have to buy the whole record. Bands put way too much effort into creating these albums, and feel passionately that people buy them as a whole. Or at least that’s the way things used to be. AC/DC does not want to drop that model. So the main facet of the band’s deal with Verizon is that all music be made available in album form only — except “You Shook Me All Night Long,” which will be available as a single. Each record costs $12, though you should only need to buy once, since they all sound the same anyway. (We kid. There are few bands we love more than AC/DC. Hey! They’re releasing a new album and touring last year. Somehow, that becomes less and less exciting every time we hear it.) Wait, you say. How can you download an entire album onto your phone? Well, you won’t be doing exactly that. Instead, albums are to be purchased through Verizon’s VCast online store and then transferred to your phone. So if you don’t have a phone that can hook up to your computer, you can’t take AC/DC with you (unless you put them on your MP3 player, which we’re sure you will). AC/DC rIngtones and ringback tones are also available through Verizon. And if you’re a huge AC/DC fan, Verizon is going to broadcast “Live at Donnington” over VCast TV. [Billboard]]]>
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