Bad news about Emusic

I think they were bought to be killed.

That's the first thing I thought of when I got the message.

The hell?

hey look at that

music buyer tombot is building a dub/roots reggae collection

So much Mad Professor on that site. I doubled, maybe tripled my collection of MP stuff there.

BUMP

Was there a time when one could download an unlimited amount of albums for one monthly price? Wow, I didn't know that. I think I started in 2005, and I've always paid for a set limit of songs per month (used to be 40 a month, now 30).

Yes, for 9.99 a month. Which means that Emusic lost money after the 40th track downloaded in a month. Toward the end of the unlimited price plan, there were people downloading 3000-5000 tracks in a single month. Emusic started in 1999, before broadband, back when it took a whole night to download an album. (I've been a member since 2002.)

It's interesting that none of our predictions upthread came true.

I came on long after the unlimited subs were gone, but still got in when Circuit City and Best Buy were clearancing 50-track cards for $5. It was a nice year.

There's so many more options now (Amie, Lala, Amazon, Napster and all the other small stores) that the subscription format seems ridiculous now, but I guess it's still working for them, as they've been raising the fees. Still, they led the way for a while.

they're still leading the way, i think. unless it's a special deal at one of the other services (or unless you catch something at a low price on aime street), emusic's per-track price is still lowest.

it would be great if they kept the unlimited downloads, didn't raise subscription prices, and kept adding labels to their portfolio, but i think that's pretty unrealistic.

Yeah, frankly I don't understand how the unlimited MP3 download model ever worked financially. (Then again, huh.) If I bought albums more frequently I'd be tempted to subscribe again.

I think Microsoft's Zune store offers some kind of unlimited plan

Mark your calendars because in November 2010, eMusic is adding more than 250,000 tracks from Universal Music Group to its catalog, the single largest addition ever!

This addition comes as part of our mission to offer members a rich catalog that is both deep and broad, with every day low prices that make music discovery as affordable as it is rewarding.

In order to continue to grow our catalog and to insure a sustainable business in the long-term, we need more flexible pricing. So we are changing from a credit-per-track system to currency pricing. Starting in November, you'll see tracks and albums priced in dollars and cents instead of credits.

Your membership will continue just as it is today, and your monthly payments will not change. While some popular tracks will be more expensive, members will still enjoy savings of 20% - 50% compared to iTunes a la carte prices.

For more details about these changes, including the new catalog, new currency pricing, and how this affects your account, please read the full announcement.

learn more

By growing our catalog, our aim is to also grow our member base, which in turn will help fund improvements to the service. We're already working on a music locker, which should allow you to stream your music from any desktop or mobile device, and new social features to better connect you with other members.

We also want to assure you that the heart of eMusic is not changing. Our approach will remain proudly, stubbornly idiosyncratic - we'll continue to champion music that represents clear artistic vision and quite simply, records that we find inspiring, whether by legends or upstarts.

For questions about your account, please send email to comme✧✧✧@emu✧✧✧.c✧✧. To provide general feedback about this change, please complete our Member Survey.

Sincerely,
Your Friends at eMusic

so the tracks are going to be priced like every other service, but you still have to pay a monthly subscription fee? what's the point then?

Presumably the entire monthly fee can be applied to ... yeah this sucks.

In order to continue to grow our catalog and to insure a sustainable business in the long-term, we need more flexible pricing. So we are changing from a credit-per-track system to currency pricing. Starting in November, you'll see tracks and albums priced in dollars and cents instead of credits.

Woah, what. I didnt get this email. this sounds shitty. I just resigned up for a yearly sub! Hows it gonna work, hm I better go check out the site.

i guess they do have a point, they're still cheaper than most. and i suppose most stuff i d/l isn't in the "most popular" category anyways. still a 16% cost increase even with the loyalty bonus taken into account...

Hm my account currently says I have 0 downloads and I thught I still had some, they better not have busted something.

i guess it's bye bye to those sweet >12 track deals which sux most

I hate the way this kind of thing is making people buy tracks selectively, reducing carefully-planned out albums to pointlessness. Grrr.

eMusic Connoisseur Plan
Price $79.99
Bonus $15.00
Total Credit $94.99

might be worth it once in a while.

honestly this might be better -- it's not as if paying in real dollars to get a set of points is different than paying in real dollars and seeing the real dollars on screen... now you don't have to convert it in your head, which i never really did anyway.

i bet i am less likely to let $3.27 go at the end of a month instead of "8 downloads"

not a good marketing strategy to show dollars rather than credits, imo

i guess it's bye bye to those sweet >12 track deals which sux most

^main drawback as far as I'm concerned

So when does the Universal shit come on board?

speculation on emusic message boards is November 10.

man, I've totally fallen out of the whole paying for mp3s deal. not that it's a bad thing. it just seems like we're going to get a compelling streaming service sooner than later, so I'm not too keen on investing a lot of money or energy into something that's not that while I'm waiting

I'm sure the artists who'll eventually benefit from the system of payment that's more convenient for you are stoked

i think this must be a function of my age, but i don't see the benefit in streaming. i want to own my music. and i don't want to feel tied to a computer monitor to hear it (but tbf i guess the idea is to have mobile-device streaming services? yuck imo).

I'm sure the artists who'll eventually benefit from the system of payment that's more convenient for you are stoked

― honkin' on joey kramer (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Saturday, 6 November 2010 22:03 (39 minutes ago)

jeez man, calm down. I ouldn't have a problem still paying $10+ for a record! for the past five years i've spent a lot on recorded music and still do, regularly

*wouldn't

iTunes says I've bought thirteen albums since September 16

thirteen right-said-fred discs does not a collection make.

He could be completing a bootleg dubstep collection, give him a break.

markers, are you completing a bootleg dubstep collection?

Maybe it was the same Right Said Fred disc bought 13 times? Now that's what I would call a collection!

Big Boi, Deerhunter, Enslaved, Grinderman, Kylesa, Linkin Park, Marnie Stern, Rick Ross, Salem, Swans, Taylor Swift, Torche, Waka Flocka Flame

all of which I am desperately trying to trade in anywhere for dubstep records

save your money for the forthcoming waka flocka, taylor swift, salem, swans supergroup.

amazing

I already have Rhapsody for home and work listening, so this latest price increase may finally get me to cancel. Amazon is 7-9 dollars for most digital albums, so idk.

jeez man, calm down.

lol I can see how a 19-word post would strike you as a huge freakout

I already have Rhapsody for home and work listening, so this latest price increase may finally get me to cancel. Amazon is 7-9 dollars for most digital albums, so idk.

digital music is where i like to make my "stick-it-to-the-man-anti-big-corporatism" stance and so i say NEVER to amazon.com > emusic.

sufjan steven's age of adz is $3.99 on amazon.com today

brb.

I use streaming for passive auditioning of music but of course I still want the product. I use Amazon, emusic and occasionally itunes, but I think Amazon is fun for hunting down older stuff that I only have on 45 / LP.

jeez man, calm down.

lol I can see how a 19-word post would strike you as a huge freakout

― honkin' on joey kramer (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Sunday, November 7, 2010 8:52 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

or maybe because i feel like youve been a dick to me on multiple threads where, as far as i can remember, ive never really been negative towards you at all

The change to the pricing system will happen in all regions on the 16th. We expect to add new labels outside the US at some point next year.

Oh awesome. So we get the new pricing system, but none of the benefits.

As we prepare for the largest catalog addition ever to eMusic – 250,000 new tracks! – we want to be up front with our loyal indie fans and provide advance notice that music from Domino, Merge and the Beggars Group family of labels will no longer be available on eMusic as of Nov. 18, 2010 pending further discussion.

http://www.thedailyswarm.com/headlines/emusic-loses-domino-merge-and-beggars-group-umg-addition-nears/

If amazon just drops their prices a little extra for like 3 months they will KILL emusic dead.

Oh awesome. So we get the new pricing system, but none of the benefits.

Plus they've stopped free re-uploading (as far as I can see). I'm gradnfathered so I'm Alright Jack but they seem to be trying desparately to make me cancel.

Having said that there's a load of ECM stuff (although not all of it - lots is USA only) that is still considerably cheaper than the actual discs.

Yeah I'm in the same position, I'll stick around for a month or two to see what happens, but kinda feel jerked around.

Yeah at the moment I'm still pretty happy to see ECM, Impulse, Island/DefJam, Geffen, and it's still a better deal than even shipping a used CD on most things (as I think I said in the other thread). Still, I'll run out of older major label stuff that I want pretty quickly.

as much as i'm bummed about the current changes and reconsidering my subscription, you guys who think these major labels with giant catalogs full of great shit won't have more of interest to you than Mege and Beggars Banquet weird me out.

had they continued to support my plan as we agreed, i would be enjoying the additional catalog, even with the loss of indies. the ppl above who are grandfathered-- don't know how that worked for them. i was on emu starting i guess in 2003, and was offered little protection each change. this time the "bonus" was shit.

ou guys who think these major labels with giant catalogs full of great shit won't have more of interest to you than Mege and Beggars Banquet weird me out.

― ethnic slizzur (some dude), Friday, November 19, 2010 9:39 AM Bookmark

It's less that then the fact that I'd just as soon get a 40-year-old multi-platinum record used or even dl it if push comes to shove, whereas I'd actually like to see the indie artists get my money.

yeah true, I guess.

the ppl above who are grandfathered-- don't know how that worked for them.

Basically my grandfathered plan means emusic are covering %40 of my monthly credits. Pretty good deal, and as long as prices remain at the 49 cent mark, its the exact same as I had prior to the switch. I'm still pissed about the no re-downloading, and the loss of the indies. Since as I mentioned, I'm not in America so I've not seen this giant majors back catalog, and I'm really pissed that they are being so vague about when or if its even coming.

xp - yeah, most of my emusic subscription goes to artists that i want to see get paid for their music/would feel guilty about downloading their stuff for free without permission.

decided to just change to the eMusic Lite $6.49 monthly plan for the time being, since I'm broke and am not sure if I wanna stick with the site but also don't entirely want to give it up yet and would like to see how interested I am in the new arrivals.

So glad that this happened this month and not last, when my harddrive failed. Being able to redownload the stuff I purchased since I last backed things up made the whole affair much easier to handle, and Amazon drew my ire because they didn't let me redownload. Their new way of doing things def knocks them down several pegs in my book.
Plus, before, I could get 3 full albums per month w/my 36 credits for $14. Now I get $16 credit for $14, which, depending on the albums, will only get me 2 albums. FUCK THAT.

does the $ carry over month to month?

No deal, Vince! How eMusic keeps prices low is it steamrolls people who forget about their remaining credits at the end of the 30 days. I just lost a crapload because of no internet access for a few days, plus I hadn't been paying attention to how the refresh date had been creeping forward. I'm happy for them to do this, because it effectively means more downloads for me... unless I stop paying attention, like I did this month.

i'm bummed about the "major-indie" labels leaving, but it's had an interesting impact on me, mostly based on my determination to find a positive in all this. so many people on the message boards there complain that emusic used to be about music-discovery, which it supposedly abandoned by embracing the majors and turning its back on the "major indie" labels that just left. but the departure of the "major indies" has actually been oddly liberating. i'm now really looking for stuff that isn't hyped in a way that parallels the hype surrounding major-label releases. removing the domino, 4ad, merge titles took a lot away for me, but i'm now finding other stuff that i'd never even dug around for in the past. again, maybe i'm just looking harder now, and hearing what i want to hear -- i realize that's a possibility.

i'm not saying the loss of these labels is a "net positive"; far from it. but i'm getting comfortable that, setting aside the major-label catalogs, there's still a ton of intriguing, compelling indie music available on emusic.

isn't everyone going to have at least some credit left over at the end of the month now, given that none of the plans are divisible by 42p? (the same way i have 60p in my itunes account that i can't spend, only every month)

there's a bunch of stuff on emusic that i've spent a heck of a lot more on actual cds of (Schulze's Cyborg is 42p a track despite the tracks being 20+ min = double lp for a couple of quid, mine was £15). am almost tempted despite the new, worse value.

"loose change" rolls-over iirc.

thanks. site strangely unresponsive at the moment. i wonder if they still accept the £10 cards that they sell in the local supermarket? they were worth 20 credits last time i looked (making them, i think, about twice as expensive as a monthly subscription) but now everything's done using prices rather than credits they might be a better, no-strings way of buying stuff...

i'm pretty sure we'll see shocks and spasms with the site for awhile. too much change at one time.

I like some of Amazon's pop catalog. Like all things Amazon there is stuff hiding in there that I haven't found elsewhere - glam rock and things of that nature, things that I find a chore on Emusic. However, I have had glitches where the download didn't work and I can't even re-download unless I go through customer service. Their downloader is a little goofy.

new T.I. album is $8.30 on eMusic. what is even the point of this fucking site anymore.

a couple weeks ago, i met a dude who has been at emusic for a long time and tried to ask about what he thought the future was for digital music and he seemed to not give a shit at all.

xpost

Just download "Amazing"

They got their Quincy Jones mixed up in their Waka Flocka Flame

http://www.emusic.com/artist/Waka-Flocka-Flame-MP3-Download/12562877.html