iPod and iTunes Hacks

Get at iTunes Music Store Metadata

Take a peek at the iTunes Music Store metadata and use the metadata for your own web applications.

Apple’s iTunes Music Store (iTMS) is more than just a place to buy DRM-restricted songs for $0.99 apiece; it is also a massive audio information repository. This searchable database contains loads of valuable metadata about each song track and album—song and album name, publication date, and record label, to name but a few—not to mention a free 30-second preview for each track and a thumbnail image of each CD cover. Of course, a major limitation is that to search this trove of information you need the iTunes application, which means you need to be sitting in front of a Mac OS X or Windows 2000/XP machine. Here are just some of the possible actions that this limitation precludes:

• Browsing the iTunes Music Store from your cell phone

• Querying the iTMS from Linux or (gasp!) Mac OS 9

• Borrowing thumbnail images and preview clips for use in your own applications

• Crosschecking iTunes tracks against RIAA Radar (http://www.magnetbox.com/riaa/) to avoid buying RIAA-owned tracks (see http://www.riaa.com)

• Developing a full-blown iTMS client for your favorite platform

There are many other desirable actions like these, all singing the same refrain: it sure would be nice to be able to access the iTMS from anywhere.

Thankfully, there is a solution, and it’s called (appropriately ...