While exploring the newest updates in iTunes 9, I stumbled across a feature which although I was aware of, I’d never really paid much attention to: Free on iTunes.

Every week Apple release a single of the week which can be downloaded for the princely sum of £0.00, free, nada, nothing. From the few times I’ve checked, the music usually comes from unknown or upcoming artists and bands. This can be an excellent way of building up your music library for free and also for discovering new music. It’s also beneficial for the artists and bands as it provides them with exposure to the iTunes community helping them build a fan-base. In addition to the single of the week, there is additional content also available for free. This varies, but can consist of more music downloads and videos.

I tried this week’s free single, 40 Day Dream by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, and thought it was pretty good. I was also very surprised to find the first four episodes from series 2 of The Inbetweeners, also available for free! The remaining content was a mixed bag consisting of featurettes from shows like Lost, Friends and Scrubs and a couple of short films. Hopefully the content is updated on a weekly basis like the free single and I’m really looking forward to the next update. I’m not sure why I haven’t tried using this feature more but I fully intend to from now on.