What’s new in the music world? Garth Brooks has just launched a new digital music store, that’s what. If you aren’t familiar with Garth Brooks, he’s the multi-award winning country music star that has millions of fans all over the globe. But, is Brooks popular enough to compete with the likes of iTunes and Amazon? Take a look.

The New GhostTunes

Garth Brooks has told press that there’s a really good reason why you won’t find any of his tunes on iTunes or Amazon - he couldn’t find any good way of representing his music digitally. Well, he couldn’t find a way that he wanted to do it, in any case. Brooks started working with some music industry masterminds and digital gurus, and this lead him to create GhostTunes.

RIght now, the site features releases from the biggest music labels out there, and you’ll find all of Brook’s stuff too (or most of it). In addition, bands like ColdPlay are on GhostTunes, and labels are working with Brooks to make the most of his new music company. If you are a Brooks fan, you can purchase 8 of his former albums, a concert film, two unreleased LPs, and a double-CD that’s also a live version of his tunes -- all for $29.99.

Why Use GhostTunes

So, it kind of seems like the last thing we need is another way to purchase music online, and it’s going to be really hard to pull people away from iTunes and Amazon. But, Brooks’s new music service does have some merit to it. Namely, artists can create song or video bundles, and then turn around to sell those bundles for whatever price they desire - that’s the kind of freedom that a lot of other music sites simply don’t offer to artists.

Clearly, Brooks wanted a service that would sell and showcase his music his way, and that’s exactly what he’s done here. Now that other artists can see how much freedom GhostTunes allows, it may mean that many other musicians are going to join in Brooks’s fun. Then again, there’s that big Apple and Amazon factor to consider.

GhostTunes Details

The thing about this music service is that it’s not entirely clear who’s running it. We know that Brooks is the founder, and the site lists Randy Bernard, a member of the Professional Bull Riders, as the CEO of the company, but that’s about all that is known. You can, however, head to the GhostTunes website to see what’s available right now - and to download that Brooks set if you’re a fan.

There are actually a lot of different bundled albums on GhostTunes, and you’ll find stuff meshed together that you won’t find on iTunes or Amazon. Plus, the prices are relatively low for what you get, and all three labels are represented on the site, so, yeah, it’s a decent competitor for Apple and Amazon. In this writer’s opinion, GhostTunes is worth a look, and it’s one way to get your music a bit differently than what Apple or Amazon offers.