March 03, 2009

By By Cortney Harding, N.Y.

The recently launched iTunes "Indie Spotlight" store will kick off a series of exclusives later today, Billboard.biz has learned.

The exclusives will start with a pre-release of new Crystal Antlers album "Tentacles" (Touch and Go) with exclusive tracks, a Stone's Throw label sampler, Angus & Julia Stone's "A Book Like This" (Nettwerk) and Say Hi's "Oohs and Aahs" (Barsuk). Next Tuesday, the store will stock exclusives from Junior Boys and Diplo.

Eothen Alapatt, who manages Stone's Throw, says he sees Apple's indie store as a return to their roots. "Now that all of the majors who used to bypass iTunes in search of shelf space at Best Buy or Walmart are 'encroaching' on our 'turf' it's nice to know that Apple is giving us a leg up and showing that the love they showed us, early on, wasn't a flash," he said. "They were serious."

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