Apple debuts a new way to pre-pay in iTunes

Apple's iTunes today opened the first iTunes Pass purchases, which lets users pay a fee up front to receive every piece of content an artist releases for a certain period of time.

While this has not officially been announced by Apple yet, a diligent Mac Forums reader located details on it in the Spanish iTunes store terms of service:

Tunes Pass gives buyers a variety of selected content (which can include songs, albums, music videos and editorial content) for sale by a particular artist, group or group of artists during a predetermined fixed period (the "Period Pass"). The full cost of the Pass iTunes is charged at the time of purchase. The purchase price of iTunes Pass not exceed fair market value of individual items offered as part of iTunes Pass. Do not offer refunds, returns or refunds. The content available at the time (if any) will be downloaded after the purchase from the iTunes Pass. The future of iTunes Pass is available for download as it is available on iTunes. To download, connect to iTunes and select "Check for Available Downloads" (Search for available downloads) the "Store" (store) in iTunes 8 (or "Check for Purchases" (Check for Purchases) the "Store" in iTunes 7). Any new content available as part of an iTunes download Pass may be purchased at the time. The buyer must connect to iTunes and download any content from the iTunes Left Pass in the course of 90 days at the end of the Pass Period (or such other period as may be specified in the purchase page), after which it is possible that the remaining content available for download as part of the purchase from the iTunes Pass.

The only artist right now that offers iTunes Pass is Depeche Mode, and the $18.99 purchase immediately includes the first single and one bonus track, and then the band's new album Sounds of the Universe when it is released.

While new for iTunes, we actually saw the "subscribe to an artist" model debut last year with artists working with Topspin, which included Jubilee, Josh Rouse, and The Dandy Warhols.