New iTunes Features: My Alerts and Complete My Album

Apple introduced two new features in iTunes today.

My Alerts (iTunes Link)

A custom page on iTunes which lists "recent releases from artists whose work you've purchased on iTunes." Apple also allows you to sign up to receive Email notifications of these alerts.

Complete My Album (iTunes Link)

Perhaps more exciting is the "Complete My Album" feature which was previously rumored late last year.

"Complete My Album" allows customers to purchase the remainder of an album for a discounted price.

Did you know that if you've purchased one or more songs from an eligible album, you may now be able to buy the rest of the album at a reduced price? You have up to six months after first downloading a song from an eligible album to purchase the remainder of the album.

The reasoning behind this strategy is to provide more incentives to customers to purchase full albums -- or at least not penalize them for buying singles ahead of time. Previously, if you purchased a single song from iTunes ($.99) and later bought the full album ($9.99), you were charged twice for that song. This new feature helps avoid that scenario -- at least for certain albums and for a limited period of time.