As eMusic Embraces Major Labels, Its Indie Core Is Leaving
from the as-if-that-wasn't-predictable dept
eMusic built itself up on a reputation for being a great way to get access to all sorts of indie music. The service, which has been around for ages, and pioneered offering authorized DRM-free MP3s, worked by letting you pay a certain subscription fee per month, which allowed you to download a specific number of songs. Over the years, the price went up, which upset some users, but things really took a turn last year when the company suddenly decided that it absolutely needed the major record labels in its collection. It started with the disastrous idea of adding Sony Music tracks at the same time as a big price increase... and then quietly trying to remove features (and then more features) without telling people. It also appeared that eMusic was deleting comments from critics. While the company denied this, there was a lot of evidence to support the claim.Since then, the company has also added music from Warner Music and (just recently) Universal Music... but it hasn't really helped. Its userbase has remained about the same, so if the new music is enticing new subscribers, they're being offset by defections. But, more importantly, it looks like some of the bigger name indie labels are pulling their music off the site, as they can't come to a reasonable agreement with eMusic.
So, if I'm reading all this correctly, it sure looks like the company did quite a deal: it signed up major labels to get music that most of its subscriber base didn't want in the first place. In doing so it took away lots of popular features and jacked up prices. Now, the service is losing the content of some of the biggest indie bands.
This seems like a case study in not knowing your own audience.
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Filed Under: fans, indie, major labels, music
Companies: emusic
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Talk about making up facts - how can you claim the subscriber base didn't want it ?!!. That defies all logic- good music is good music regardless of the label.
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...but then the majors came along. To be fair, this wasn't the only thing wrong with their service but the price increase, coupled with enforced regional restrictions and the fact that the Sony catalogue wasn't available outside the US made me quit, as did many regulars on the forums.
Of course, the losers in all that were the independent artists. My albums purchases have dropped from 10-12 albums per month (I had a 100 track subscription) to maybe 1 a month, sometimes less. I still buy from artists I know and love, but I'm not going to drop full CD prices for unfamiliar genres - and online retailers like Amazon and iTunes are either overpriced or won't sell to me. So, smaller and developing artists have lost my money.
I had recently been considering signing up again to take a look at how things have changed, but I'm definitely not bothering now.
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Looks like a case study in wiping out indies.
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Re: Looks like a case study in wiping out indies.
As are you.
What's really more likely? That a company willingly restricts itself to just 4 suppliers who don't meet much of their customers requirements is doing the smart thing (many of the artists on the departed labels are quite popular, especially in Europe)? Or that their attempts to appease an overbearing cartel have pushed competing suppliers away?
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"We're sorry, eMusic is not available in your country."
I'm currently at work in Gibraltar, a British territory where I've had no problems accessing them in the past. In fact, virtually all the music I used to buy from them was paid for from this very desk.
Nice move, guys...
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I'm sticking with emusic.
Is it possible that there just aren't enough people willing to pay for indie music for emusic to stay afloat? If you consider that indie music fans are probably dedicated music fans, the more righteous ones are going to buy directly from the artist so they can profit more, and the less righteous ones are going to pirate. emusic sits in the middle of all that.
emusic also knows they don't have much competition. Where else will you find such a great deal on indie music?
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Uh oh
It's really too bad, because eMusic seemed like a good deal.
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Re: Re: Looks like a case study in wiping out indies.
I'm sure eMusic doesn't want to drive indies away from their service. The Big Four, on the other hand, absolutely do.
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One by one, they've fallen
Sadly, every indie music site I've used or subscribed to over the years has either folded or sold out:
First Audiolunchbox, then Aimestreet, and now eMusic.
I've been scouring the web to find a suitable replacement, but so far, no luck.
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Re: I'm sticking with emusic.
Well that's the whole point, isn't it? eMusic is no longer about the indie music and as such the indie artists and labels are going away...
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Re:
Tier 0 - Free
Tier 1 - pay by song
Tier 1a - Amee street model (floating price)
Tier 2 - pay by albumn
Tier 3 - monthly fee limit to n songs per month
etc
If the labels come knocking say hey. You can already do that here, no agreement is needed. Set up an account and have someone import your music ... you are responsible for the choices you make when you set this up....
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Re: Re: Re: Looks like a case study in wiping out indies.
Hephaestus
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I'm close to leaving...
I guess, if I can find enough tracks each month at the $0.49 level, it's still worth it. But I'm not sure I can. And finding the sort of things I like will be even more difficult, because I'll have to plow through a bunch of crap I never wanted to see.
They've got to do what ever they can to keep the company profitable and to make it more profitable. But I think they're alienating a lot of us who enjoyed the low prices and perks of the service.
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Re: I'm sticking with emusic.
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Don't you mean "shills" and "fanbois"? Of course their comments should be deleted!!!!! Just like I delete any and all comments on my site coming from shills and fanbois!!!!! Half the posts on my site don't have any comments at all because I have to keep censor... I mean deleting the shill/fanboi comments!!!!!
Oh, make sure to support my fight to protect free speech in Canada!!!!!
www.Pee2PeeNet.net
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Re: Re: I'm sticking with emusic.
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Re: Re: I'm sticking with emusic.
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Re: Re: Re: I'm sticking with emusic.
Clearly not...
First of all, look at the main subject of this conversation. You seem to be defending eMusic as a major, inexpensive supplier for indie music. Yet, the article itself is about how not only have prices increased significantly over recent years, but the indie labels are leaving. It seems a bit strange to defend them for providing a service they're no longer supplying (hint: the Arcade Fire album is on a label that's just been removed).
As for "latest and greatest", the album in question here was released in 2004. While Amazon's pricing does seem cheaper than other sites (a quick check of a few others shows around $9), there's no indication I can see that it's a temporary special offer. Even if it is, it seems to be a sale on a large number of albums (for example, Neon Bible by the same band is $3.99, as is Florence And The Machines' Lungs, an excellent album on a major label). Lots of bargains, especially for someone buying back catalogue titles.
Given that eMusic have made life difficult for indie labels in order to appease the RIAA, it seems a little strange for somebody who defends the indie music scene to support them, just to make a completely non-guaranteed saving on music that's several years old.
Don't get me wrong, you would have had an excellent argument a few years ago (and one I would have made in defence of them myself), but how are you going to use them as a cheap indie resource when they no longer supply indie product?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: I'm sticking with emusic.
I'm not entirely defending emusic, I'm just not jumping on the hate bandwagon because they're adding major label music, even though I don't buy major label music. Most of the major label stuff I want shows up at the public library anyway.
I was trying to point out that there were no reasons given why the indie labels are no longer available and I'd love to know the reason and love to see them come back. Unfortunately emusic making major changes at the same time they add major label content makes them look really bad, and prices keep inching up to the point where subscribing to emusic is no longer worth it. I don't think they've reached that point quite yet, but I will start price checking everything I buy against Amazon.
I'd love a website where every recording ever made was easily available a a good price, but right now only the Pirate Bay fits that description. How much is Arcade Fire there?
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Re: Other sites
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Re: Re: Re: Re: I'm sticking with emusic.
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2010/11/the_reason_why_1.php
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I don't see the new pricing model as a barrier, as it comes down to the same thing -- price per track. If the cost goes up, that will be factored in. There might even be some tracks I want in the big labels, not everyone high profile sucks.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I'm sticking with emusic.
What is it you're trying to say? Not selling (demonstrably untrue) or low quality (subjective)? We're talking indie rock albums here, btw, not boy bands and X factor winners.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I'm sticking with emusic.
Subjective. How many indie albums are there remaining from the 70s/80s, anyway, since so many of them have been bought up by RIAA members in the meantime? Depending on their contracts, artists signed to defunct labels that have been sold on may see nothing - if they're still alive at all.
Besides, you said "older" vs. "latest and greatest". By your definition, that Arcade Fire album is neither - unless you're defining "latest and greatest" as 6 years old. In which case you, the labels and most of media have a disagreement on a fundamental scale.
That's not to say older material doesn't have its worth, but most sales do take place in the first year or 2, and that's where this battle will most likely be fought.
"I'm just not jumping on the hate bandwagon because they're adding major label music"
The "hate bandwagon" is nothing of the sort. They're being criticised for adding major label content *at the expense* of both indie bands and existing customers. If the majors would play fair, or eMusic would support their existing base, there would be no relevant discussion. As it is, all are getting screwed at the behest of the majors.
"I was trying to point out that there were no reasons given why the indie labels are no longer available "
Again, RTFA. It's all laid out.
"I'd love a website where every recording ever made was easily available a a good price, but right now only the Pirate Bay fits that description."
The problem with the modern music industry in a nutshell, and why they won't make any headway against "piracy" until they change their methods.
I'd also love such a site, but none exist and so my money goes unspent.
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