Free iTunes tracks on 2 billion cans of Coke
Tags: itunes, names, recorded, promotion
In what is claimed to be the biggest music promotion in Europe's history, Coca-Cola has teamed up with iTunes to give away free music downloads to lucky European Coke drinkers -- with a chance to win a track on 2 billion packs of the fizzy black stuff. The promotion will run between May and August of this year and with Coke covering the vast cost of the downloads, Apple is set to see its total sales through iTunes rocket beyond the stratosphere.
There are also iPods up for grabs, along with free tickets to a vast collection of iTunes and Coke-sponsored music concerts throughout the year. Various big names are said to be performing (although we don't know what those names are yet), along with a plethora of new, lesser-known acts. These concerts are to be recorded and made available exclusively on iTunes for download.
Legendary dance collective Faithless have recorded a special track exclusively for the iTunes-Coke partnership. They will perform live at the promotion's launch event at the Cannes Film Festival. The group has also teamed up with designers to produce a limited-edition, ultra-stylish Coke bottle that will ship during the promotion, though no further details on the final design are yet known.
This huge deal is set to damage kids' dentistry even further, while simultaneously destroying their little ears with great music -- every kid's and parent's dream, of course. As Faithless might say, "I can't get... no... teeth." Oh, we crack ourselves up.
What's not known, however, is whether these free downloads from iTunes will include tracks from the new DRM-free library EMI has admirably announced. This sceptical reporter says nay, but in a world where Dell ships Linux PCs, and a major label dishes out their entire catalogue in freely piratable format, nothing would come as a surprise.
Now if only Pepsi would team up with eMusic... -Nate Lanxon
Update: A previously published version of this story stated that the promotion was to give away 2 billion free music downloads. We apologise for the mistake.
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GKWed 16 May, 2007 3:13pm
"This huge deal is set to damage kids' dentistry even further, while simultaneously destroying their little ears with great music -- every kid's and parent's dream, of course. As Faithless might say, "I can't get... no... teeth." Oh, we crack ourselves up."
Haha, nice one! Don't know about you, but I cracked myself up after reading that!...
The "giveaway" sounds good - or at least the sheer number of it. However Coke is bad for you, so don't do it.
Tom BroncoWed 16 May, 2007 5:17pm
Does anyone else find it ironic that the man who once lured his first CEO by ridiculing the idea of selling sugar water is now the instrument by which someone else sells sugar water. I like iTunes but Steve Jobs is just another youthful rebel who in the end sold out just like the people he disliked when he was young.
AnonymousWed 16 May, 2007 5:17pm
Great. All of europe will be twitching this summer.
Philip BainWed 16 May, 2007 5:51pm
Regarding the DRM-free downloads I doubt that they will be included in the promotion, in the previous Coke iTunes promotion a free download constiututed a standard 79p 128kbps DRM protected file, they couldnt be used to obtain items such as audio books, podcasts, video or any other non standard item.
AnonymousWed 16 May, 2007 9:22pm
All they have to do is mention in the ad copy, like any drinking ad for grownups, "Brush defensively! If you drink, brush your teeth!" Geez.
lev polvoiThu 17 May, 2007 9:39am
Yea! lets ruin our teeth to save a buck on a song!
thats calles inteligent invesment.
AnonymousThu 17 May, 2007 3:44pm
i so hope I win one of these fantastic prizes
Marc CohenMon 21 May, 2007 7:26pm
I think this promotion is a great endorsement of advertising funded downloaded music. Check out the Ad-Supported Music Central blog at: http://ad-supported-music.blogspot.com/
AnonymousFri 8 February, 2008 4:50am
Itunes is great-so is coke-but pepsi is , either way it's a great promotiona and i wish i would of got my iPod before it finished
AnonymousWed 27 February, 2008 8:07pm
thanks
AnonymousSat 26 April, 2008 11:37pm
THEY SOULD OF DONE THIS IN AMERICA!! :(
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AnonymousWed 16 May, 2007 11:21am
Fantastic news, I'll now be able to steal all my dad's coke cans and use the new tunes with <a href="http://www.thefilter.com">The Filter</a>