Last week I mentioned a couple of iTunes 4.7 enhancements worth paying attention to. Today I’d like to talk up one more: Artist Alert.
Artist Alert does exactly what its name implies. When a new track from a favorite artist becomes available from the iTunes Music Store, you’re sent an email alert. To configure an alert, go to the page of a favorite artist (clicking the arrow icon next to an artist’s name will get you there). In the upper-right corner of the page you’ll see the Artist Alert link (with a big ol’ “New” badge next to it). Click the link and you’ll be asked to sign in with your Apple ID. Do so and click the Add button. Confirm that you really want to add this artist by clicking OK in the confirmation dialog box and you’re good to go.
To remove an artist alert, click on your account name in the upper-right corner of iTunes, enter your Apple ID, and click the Manage Artist Alerts button in the resulting Apple Account Information window. In the Manage Artist Alerts window that appears, uncheck the names of any artists you no longer want alerts for and then click Save Changes.
In this same window you have the option to have alerts sent for any artists in your Purchase History list (which you can view by clicking the Purchase History button in the Apple Account Information window).