Jupiter's David Card noticed a first at iTunes. In an iTunes Music Store New Music Tuesday e-mail newsletter, Apple included a recommendation for the artist Borne. Wrote Card at his blog:

"Wow. Apple actually does some music promotion. I can't say I've seen this kind of thing from them before. ... This is pure, editorial merchandising. That is, it isn't generated by any recommendation robots. At least I don't think so -- I don't like Coldplay or Snow Patrol and Apple has no reason to think I do."

The quote Card pulled from the email starts with the line, "If you like Coldplay and Snow Patrol, we think you'll love Borne." It goes on to explain how iTunes Australia received a demo CD from Borne. They were so impressed by the music, and the free single of the week was so popular in Australia, that they decided to make the song iTunes' "first-ever worldwide free Single of the Week."

Not lost on me is the fact that iTunes is doing something worldwide. The organization of music distribution tends to lead to a fragmented global market where availability and prices follow political borders.