The problem with iTunes Lp was the cost to create the media and the technical expertise that was required to program them. In the beginning, it was estimated that each album creation would cost at least 10 thousand pounds to produce (£10,000) and that was not wide of the mark if you wanted to produce a good iTunes LP.

There were hardly any developers with the skills and those that did have them were working for big companies being over worked or charging huge sums for their work.

I learnt that I could but was constantly let down of push back in the line of importance when I needed someone’s help to get the skills I lacked.

Over 8 years I kept going. This was a mammoth project that was originally just 4 albums in a series but as I learnt more about how to create them I realised that everything has to be in the system so the project grew to over 10 albums as I worked of different parts of different albums pretty much on my own except for a few artists who would do drawing I needed. it was a real complex mess of spaghetti to ever one I knew , kind of like have 10 different cars all in bits to build and I was always moving between working on each.

by the time I started to deliver them I was really excited with the whole end result they were really good and immersive but the world had been moving on, where the music was previously being either bought in pieces or stolen now it was being directed even more with the new streaming which was just another way to only pay the smallest amount for an artist work and only for the amount of seconds it is played.

All of a sudden I was finding it near on impossible to deliver my iTunes LPs to Apple, All the delivery companies said they were no longer putting resources into delivery even though they continued to promote that they were the chosen company to do so. Apple kept telling me to go to different authorised companies and I was sent from miller to post.

Eventually (with Apples help) I got someone to deliver my albums but it was expensive and slow. I managed to get about 4 up before they told me they were no longer delivering any more as they had moved all their resources to other areas.

so there I was with 10 iTunes ops and only 4 delivered after over 8 years of hard work.
Everything grinder to a halt due only to not being able to deliver the albums using Apples chosen agents. I realised only at this time that Apple was no interested in pursuing the format anymore and so I was stuck with a few albums on iTunes and no reason to push them as I knew Apple was (without actually saying it) no going to support it anymore.

That feeling of failure is not something you can easily explain. I don’t think I failed in the creating of my iTunes ops as they are stunning but I think I failed in trusting Apple with over 8 years of my life. I never though Apple would just move to what ever made them more money. I have been sucked into the magical world of Apple really loves the Artist and the Album.

I should have known really. I was already pissed that it was Apple that killed the Album by forcing the sales of pieces of an album on their store.

Yes I know people (Apple included) will say that we don’t have to use the iTunes Store or formula but only a fool would not know that a monopoly should not dictate everything and dictating how an album is sold (chip it up to make the most money for themselves) has never sat well with me as an artist.

so there you have it the question of my failure of success is defined by what, over 8 years on a dead project or not?

I suppose no one will ever know as the format has not been officially retired by Apple.
You can see my blogs about how cool the format was but its failure was always down to Apples rigorous programming requirement and the lack of skill full programmers to service the needs of the artist at a price that was affordable.

Maybe something will happen to get my total project realised in the future as for me the project is great the music is great and the whole journey is unique and creative, did I fail? no not in my creativity, only in my blind trust that Apple actually cared about creating and supporting the real musical creation that is an artist’s Album.