iTunes samples are prolonged from 30 to 90 seconds

Apple is tripling the length of many song samples on its iTunes store from 30 to 90 seconds. First time the speculations were reported by the Symphonic Distribution blog on Tuesday, then confirmed by Cnet that evening.

The news was confirmed by a "Dear Label Representative" email sent to the officials of music-distribution labels. The missive said in part: "We are pleased to let you know that we are preparing to increase the length of music previews from 30 seconds to 90 seconds on the iTunes Store in the United States." It remains unclear whether the move will affect other countries as well.

However, it is not that fantastic as it may seem because 90-second samples will only be allowed for iTunes offerings that are over two minutes and 30 seconds in length — a restriction that will keep the 30-second rule in force for classics such as Randy Newman's Political Science and Mama Told Me Not To Come, The Clash's London's Burning and White Riot, and the majority of The Ramones' oeuvre.