I guess, but to me this only makes sense for the bigger artists (if it makes sense at all). I don't think iTunes wants you to lose interest in that new artist

I guess, but to me this only makes sense for the bigger artists (if it makes sense at all). I don't think iTunes wants you to lose interest in that new artist you have been listening to, they want you to buy more music all the time. Some examples of this: ping, recommended artists, etc. If you want to argue that you want users buying your music instead of a different artist, I understand, but to me music is more a matter of taste (and you can have hundreds of albums just awaiting your perusal) whereas while software can definitely have a taste element, it is supposed to accomplish some goal. There is a finite amount of software you are going to want on your phone or computer (besides games which are more consumable), and unless your software in orders of magnitude better than your competitor that I already use, or something new that I don't have and cant do without you, I am not going to switch.