Credit for a store I could steal anything from.

December 28, 2009 9:15 PM

iTunesFilter: I got an iTunes gift card for Christmas - $15. What could I possibly buy on iTunes that I couldn't just download somewhere else?
posted by Bobby Bittman to Shopping (25 answers total)

TV shows, music, iPhone/iPod Touch apps.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:15 PM on December 28, 2009

Response by poster: Free, free, mostly free. Not trying to sound snarky, but I'm looking for something maybe not available on torrent sites, or something I haven't thought of.
posted by Bobby Bittman at 9:18 PM on December 28, 2009

TV shows and music you can just download somewhere else. Go for the apps, if you have the hardware. Or maybe audiobooks, if you like those?
posted by vanitas at 9:21 PM on December 28, 2009

There's a lot of "exclusives" on the iTunes store. I doubt the apps will be on torrent sites.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:22 PM on December 28, 2009

The iTunes music catalog is pretty deep. Many times some really obscure stuff can be found when you might have a hard time finding a torrent for the song with active seeders. Also, some artists do iTunes-only releases. Of course, those can be on torrent sites, too. If you're happy getting your media via torrents/usenet/etc then you could always regift the card to someone else.
posted by birdherder at 9:22 PM on December 28, 2009

I got a $50 iTunes gift card for Christmas. What I did was download a lot of material I was not able to find on torrent sites. I'll admit, I'll download a lot. And in that time I've learned that not every single song or video you want is illegally available. Also, if you have an iPhone or iPod touch it is great to make those little impulse buys (like the song you just heard on the radio or that app you heard about at the cafe).

Great example: I couldn't find a copy of They Might Be Giant's Cast Your Pod to the Wind. A bonus CD, basically. Couldn't find it in a torrent search at the time. So at the time I tried to buy it legally through Barnes and Noble (but that ended up being a waste of another gift card, the CD I Got didn't have the bonus). So I used the iTunes cash to buy the CD. Happy ending!
posted by Askiba at 9:24 PM on December 28, 2009

Regift.
posted by hermitosis at 9:25 PM on December 28, 2009 [3 favorites]

You could get one of those iTunes LP packages, with the album art, liner notes, lyrics, videos, etc. They're usually $12-14 and the pirates usually don't bother since it's way easier to rip a retail disc.

Another option is to just use it over time for single songs. Sure they are usually available illegally, but it's a lot easier to get them from iTunes.
posted by smackfu at 9:35 PM on December 28, 2009 [1 favorite]

It's good for impulse downloads. Like when you really want to hear a song within the next 5 minutes. On every computer I've ever used, an iTunes download is always way faster than torrenting. I get my music exclusively from iTunes now, because you don't end up with random fragmented mishmash track info.
posted by ishotjr at 9:51 PM on December 28, 2009

You could use it for the bands you really, really like, so that they get paid a couple of cents for your purchase.
posted by hwyengr at 9:55 PM on December 28, 2009 [13 favorites]

birdherder's right. iTunes has a surprisingly huge catalog, and not everything is out there with active seeders. If you can't think of where to start looking, try scanning through the "Deep Cuts" sections of their iTunes Essentials collections. That'll lead you to fringe-genres and things that were critically acclaimed but not necessarily popular at the time.

Then again, you can always regift, or ask $10 for it. Chances are, you know somebody who happily uses iTunes.
posted by Mizu at 11:15 PM on December 28, 2009

You could spend it on stuff you've already stolen and appreciate so that the people who created it have a reason to make more.
posted by Ookseer at 12:10 AM on December 29, 2009 [11 favorites]

I'm sure you were looking for answers that told you to pay for your content and buy things you already have. So helpful.

I once used iTunes to buy this great song that I had heard on satellite radio, but couldn't find anywhere else. Hey! I'll send it to you if you want.
posted by No New Diamonds Please at 12:22 AM on December 29, 2009 [1 favorite]

Do you have or possibly have plans to buy an iPod/iPhone? If so, save it for apps. There are some apps that most people can't find for free.
posted by Sufi at 12:24 AM on December 29, 2009

Music from bands you like enough to give money to?

Note: this is not the same as chastising you for acquiring content elsewhere.
posted by Aquaman at 12:39 AM on December 29, 2009

The Canadian Itunes doesn't let buy apps with gift cards.
You're stuck with music and movies.
posted by Chuckles McLaughy du Haha, the depressed clown at 6:37 AM on December 29, 2009

French hip-hop...hard to find on torrent sites.

If not that, try to find some other obscure music (obscure for North America, that is) you might like that isn't so readily available. Lots of good stuff out there if you search for it, and iTunes has a vast library, as others have said.
posted by hiteleven at 7:24 AM on December 29, 2009

The Canadian Itunes doesn't let buy apps with gift cards.

You sure? On my iPhone, in the App Store, there's a "Redeem" link which says it's to redeem gift cards, but I haven't had the opportunity to try it out.
posted by mendel at 8:58 AM on December 29, 2009

I used it for a lot of cheap iPhone games that are pretty fun.
posted by booknerd at 9:24 AM on December 29, 2009

Mod note: few comments removed - non-answers can go to metatalk or email.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:37 AM on December 29, 2009

The Canadian Itunes doesn't let buy apps with gift cards.

It also doesn't allow you to use gift card balances to gift a purchase to someone else.
posted by jeffmik at 9:48 AM on December 29, 2009

I use itunes cards for things that I *could* find online but it would be a really big hassle to actually do so. These usage of these cards usually coincides with a long trip. Instead of spending a lot of time looking and downloading movies and audiobooks I just use an itunes giftcard to purchase media to consume during my trip. It saves a lot of time which is important when you still have bags to pack and what not!
posted by lucy.jakobs at 10:36 AM on December 29, 2009

Use it for stuff like The The and bands with names that are really really hard to search for using rudimentary search boxes that often exist on torrent sites and software.
posted by jessamyn at 10:52 AM on December 29, 2009

Not everything is downloadable - I've recently purchased two albums from Amazon I couldn't find on any torrent sites.

Figure out your most obscure wants, search, and purchase if you can't find them.
posted by timepiece at 12:24 PM on December 29, 2009

TV shows in good quality, with no artifacts, the complete introduction sequence, and ending credits with music -- very soon after they air.
posted by Nameless at 6:10 PM on December 31, 2009