Notes: Flaming Lips are already available in the iTMS. They're even a featured artist. I note them in your list of Amazon ASINs.

Although, my wife noticed that Madonna's Ray Of Light album cover is featured in the Apple store display for iTMS, but no Madonna songs are available in the iTMS. So maybe it isn't just the indies Apple needs to work on. :)

Of course, the indie space is also already largely mapped by emusic.com, so it will be interesting to see how successful Apple is in that market. Then again, I suppose a lot of people don't want to fork over $10/month if they only want a few songs...

maybe she meant old Flaming Lips? Thanks Amber, you were sure quick on this one!

There goes any hope I had of saving money. But very good news nonetheless.

Maybe I'll finally be able to track down albums by a couple of indie bands I used to have that were crushed in a car accident: Breathe by the Young Dubliners, and the first album from the Falling Wallendas.

One more thing: I also looked up Nirvana, and found seven albums available (one was actually a single, and the other was the alternate "clean" version of In Utero, so five albums really). But sure enough, no Bleach or any other Subpop release. It would be nice to get those on there, though I already have Bleach.

Soundgarden similarly listed quite a few albums, but no Screaming Life.

Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots is definitely there, though.

Apple is always steps ahead of the curve in anything it does, and halleluia for that! This is the best news I've heard all week... (and Jen, I'm with you - once I get that iPod, I might as well hand my ATM card over to Steve Jobs).

Yeah digital distribution services like apple iTunes are the future, though I think it's longer-off than the media hype would have us believe.
It's at such an early stage that it will be years before most of the world
uses it as the main way to get music.

Whatever I hope all independent artists eventually get to feel the benefit not just those on a selected few indie labels. Apple have stated "We want every piece of music ever recorded." But on the launch of windows itunes hardly any indies can be found in the catalogue.

It seems clear that the indies are arriving steadily, as a perusal of the 'Just Added' page of the iTMS will reveal. It does take time to rip and process and excerpt all of the songs, and indie labels aren't always the fastest at responding to paperwork and so on, but the iTMS is open to all.

If nothing else, any artists can use CDBaby, which is part of iTMS.

If you want indie albums, just go to emusic. It's much cheaper (about 25 cents a track), and the selection is quite large. I've got their 90 download a month plan, and I never seem to be able to get everything I want.