Def Jam Freezing Out iTunes

The downside of withholding hot tracks from iTunes is that many music fans who can't find the music will simply download it illegally for free. "It's so incredibly backwards it's kind of mind-boggling," says Tim Quirk, executive editor of online music store Rhapsody.com, which, like iTunes, didn't carry "So Sick." "The track is still available online. You're just not getting any compensation for it."

Island Def Jam executives did not comment for this story, but they've expressed concern about how advance single sales will reduce consumers' desire to buy whole albums, and have also said that they would consider whether or not to release singles to iTunes on a case-by-case basis. The label's pop-R&B star Rihanna, who was signed by Def Jam president Jay-Z, is following in her labelmate's footsteps by sending her Soft Cell-sampling tune "S.O.S. (Rescue Me)" exclusively to traditional radio stations before her CD comes out later this year.

Other labels are testing the strategy too. Atlantic Records artist T.I.'s "King" and Epic artist Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" are only available as ring tones (through Sprint and Verizon, respectively). Ring tones have the advantage of being potentially more lucrative, at around $2.99 a pop, without giving the customer the entire song -- and they're incredibly popular. "On T.I.'s last album, he sold over 3 million ring tones," says Atlantic Records president Julie Greenwald. "When we sat down to discuss the strategy of rolling T.I. out, we said, 'Let's go out and talk to some cellular ring-tone partners.'