LONDON - Apple's iTunes festival concluded Monday night with a performance by Katy Perry. The event took over The Roundhouse theater, an historic music venue in Camden Town, in North West London, where the entire month of September was dedicated to iTunes, the Festival, and Apple itself.
Apple brings in a mix of the biggest and up-and-coming music acts for the event. While the company could probably turn the festival into a profit center by charging an arm and a leg for tickets, tickets are instead given out for free in lottery system.
The iTunes festival has become a landmark in the London musical calendar, with people desperately applying to win a pair of the free tickets. While many end up ticketless and disappointed (I've never won tickets,) all the shows are streamed live, and there are iOS apps for the festival too. Recordings of the performances are also sold on iTunes.
The 2013 festival, which ended Monday, was bigger than ever before, and featured mega stars like Justin Timberlake, Kings of Leon, and Elton John. As you can see from the pictures below, the event was heavily iTunes branded, and there could be no mistaking who was throwing this, the best party in town.
Major acts like Lady Gaga and Elton John, featured on posters on The Roundhouse's wall, performed at this year's iTunes festival.
The festival lasts for the whole of the month of September. It started with Lady Gaga on September 1st, and closed September 30th with Katy Perry.
Katy Perry closed the month long festival
While the Roundhouse is a famous venue, it is tiny, and many of these superstars would be more accustomed to playing down the road at Wembley Stadium. It seems that no task is too big, and no stage too small, if Apple is asking.
With acts such as Justin Timberlake performing, those lucky enough to get tickets queued early to make sure they had the best spot at the small venue.
Queuing, the national pastime of the UK