Complete U2 Available for iTunes Plus Upgrade

I have written in the past about Apple’s iTunes Plus upgrades. Initially, you weren’t allowed to upgrade albums individually; it was all or nothing. After Apple changed this policy, and since all iTunes content is now in iTunes Plus format (256 kbps without DRM), Apple has been slow to provide upgrades. In many cases, albums are available for sale in iTunes Plus, but not for upgrade.

A while back, the Bob Dylan Collection became available in iTunes Plus, and I wondered whether the Complete U2 would soon be available. But there is a lot of “orphaned” music on iTunes: music that is no longer sold by iTunes, and will probably never be available for upgrade.

I noticed last night that the Complete U2 was available for upgrade for $45 (for about 460 tracks). Yet this set is no longer sold on the iTunes Store. So it seems that Apple – at least for this set – has finally decided to provide an iTunes Plus version for upgrade, yet not for sale. This suggests that other orphaned albums may be available for upgrade, but I still see in my collection a number that aren’t yet available. (Not that I’m planning to upgrade everything, but I would like to upgrade most of my classical music.)

In any case, if you’re an owner of the Complete U2 set, check your iTunes Plus upgrade page.