American Idol Fodder

"Idol" and iTunes Join Forces

The producers of "American Idol" are the masters of cross-promotion. They've figured out how to sell everything from soda (just look at those Coca-Cola cups Simon drinks out of) to cars (remember those wacky Ford music videos the contestants make). And this year is no different as "Idol" begins a partnership with iTunes.

According to Fox's "American Idol" website, starting this week all the semifinalist's songs will be available for download on iTunes for 99 cents. Starting March 12 fans can download the Top 12 contestants' video performances each week. Those will cost $1.99, the same as any other music video on the popular download site. As an added incentive, "Idol" aficionados can pre-order contestants' performances days before they've even aired. iTunes has organized all the download action for "Idol"-maniacs in a special section on the site.

With all this cross-promotion, it's only a matter of time before "Idol" contestants start dancing around in those quirky Apple/iPod ads.–Chris Sardelli