Emusic adds Sony tracks, betrays customer base
I've been a member of Emusic for some time now, and noticed some big news yesterday. They're adding a huge number of tracks in July, apparently they've landed a contract with Sony and its subsidiaries, with 200,000 new tracks showing up in July. Not necessarily a lot of stuff i might be interested in, but whatever. That's not the news i was referring to, though. Here's the catch; they're raising their price. And not only that, they're going back on a promise to their customers. Back when they raised prices back in 2006, they made this promise in an email soliciting for upgrades: "Your old plan will be guaranteed as long as you keep your account active and in good standing."
So much for that. They have let me know that as of July, the number of tracks i can download will drop nearly 50%, for the same subscription fee. Nice way to treat your customer base, Emusic. Glad to know we got you to the point that you could screw us. I know what they're doing here, they're definitely trying to compete with iTunes, and broaden their customer base. Raising their price point will cost them a lot of customers, but i'm sure they've plotted out how the extra fees will pay off in long term. And it may have been a condition to get the new contracts. Still, I'm pissed. Couldn't you have honored your original promise, Danny Stein? I guess that's not in the nature of your business.
This just in from Eli 7.4's playground: Apparently, girls go to college to get more knowledge, but boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider. -Bill Harris
Darn wipper snappers! I remember when you got a song for twenty five cents a piece on e-music!
Do you ever walk alone like a drifter in the dark?
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Steam: Bordone
That stinks. I've been a loyal eMusic user for years, even though I haven't maintained an continuous subscription. I'd rather see them focus on the indie-ish labels that they're lacking (Drag City, Sub Pop) than see them shovel on the Sony catalog (which may have some good subsidiary labels, but is mostly dreck).
What a drag, that's probably the end of an era. I may just have to load up before July 1 and pull the plug.
"You know, hubbinsd, as much as I don't want to go into library science, I still think you're pretty sexy." -Wordsmythe
Well that sucks. Emusic is a great repository for old gems. I've been finding lots of great 60/70s funk, soul and jazz on there. $12 for 50 tracks is worth it. $12 for 30 tracks is not.
Xbox Live: shonuff27
Steam: gdawg27
Well, I enjoyed it while it lasted. The price per song ratio is at the point where I'll give up my "experimenting" with their lesser-known artists, and just get what I want directly from Amazon. It's turning into a digital Columbia House / BMG Music Club.
I wonder if it would have been tough to offer membership "tiers" where you pay more for premium tracks...
Certis wrote:
Is there a link to an announcement about the plan changes? I can't find anything off-hand, but that could be because I have my account suspended at the moment (wanted to save some cash over the last couple of months), or because I'm not in the US.
XBL: pneuman | PSN: pneuman | music | blog | twitter | podcast!
There's a link on their front page, but you have to be logged into your account to see it.
This just in from Eli 7.4's playground: Apparently, girls go to college to get more knowledge, but boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider. -Bill Harris
Twitter | Xbox Live
Strange... I'm on the front page, and I'm logged in, but I can't see it. Perhaps it's only changing for US subscribers?
XBL: pneuman | PSN: pneuman | music | blog | twitter | podcast!
Try this, should take you to the right place.
This just in from Eli 7.4's playground: Apparently, girls go to college to get more knowledge, but boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider. -Bill Harris
Twitter | Xbox Live
Just finished spending my remaining credits and canceling. What tipped me over the edge was when I had only 2 credits left and I couldn't download individual tracks due to contract restrictions. Luckily I found a 2 track album I wanted, but I'm not putting up with that anymore. I've been a member since their launch and know some people that work for the company, but I just don't think I'm getting a good deal on it anymore.
"Few have the courage of their convictions. Fewer still have the courage for an attack on their convictions." - Nietzsche
XBL/Steam: Rexneron
I remember when eMusic was $9.95/mo. for unlimited downloads.
Xbox | PSN: LiquidmantisGWJ
Web
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Fond memories of a flexible Grandma ensue. - m0nk3yboy
That's strange. My account was grandfathered in so that I'm continuing to get the same number of tracks for the same price. I had no idea that all existing eMusic customers weren't being treated this way. I was actually happy about the expansion to their catalog and the addition of the ability to download complete albums using fewer credits than the album has tracks.
I'm saddened to hear that not everyone is being treated as well as I am. How long have you had your account?
LiquidMantis wrote:
My Blog: Know the Face of the Man You're Killing
Every now and then emusic sends me an e-mail saying, "if you resubscribe now, you'll get 75 free songs!" So I pay my $8 (or $10, or $12, or whatever it is now), get the 30 for the subscription and the bonus 75, download me 105 songs, and cancel my subscription. 105 songs for ~$10 isn't bad.
NOTE: Not a doodle bug.
Steam-XBox-PSN: Lobstermancer
From what I understand, for the most part, is no grandfathering in. My most recent plan was 40 downloads a month for $11.99, which is now going to be 25 downloads once July 24th hits. For the large majority of people their plans will change on the first billing date in July.
Q: I'd rather not change my plan. Can I keep my current plan?
A: We've had to retire a number of plans. If you were advised of a change to your plan it's because your previous plan is no longer available. Check Your Account to see all available plans.
"Few have the courage of their convictions. Fewer still have the courage for an attack on their convictions." - Nietzsche
XBL/Steam: Rexneron
It could also be that the current model just simply wasnt working to get them cash flow positive and thus they had no choice.. shut down the business or raise prices.
Tough situation for sure.
Aint nothing new about the world order..it's been playing since the day they put George Washington on a quarter
85's face the truth you're too dumb.
They have said that raising the prices wasn't just about Sony -- there have been some indies that have come and gone, or simply never signed up, because of the low per-track pricing, so the price rise is something that probably would have happened anyway.
Still, I'm not sure what to do with my subscription. I get the price rise as of next month (I think my plan drops from 50 tracks to 37), but because I'm not in the US I don't get access to the Sony tracks anyway, and I've noticed more and more new albums coming out from the indies that also aren't available outside the US. I'll probably stick with it for now, though, just because I don't have many alternatives: iTunes is a hassle for me (no Linux version), Amazon MP3 isn't available here, and eMusic is still cheaper than either of them anyway.
XBL: pneuman | PSN: pneuman | music | blog | twitter | podcast!
Very interesting. Here's what I have splashed across my front page:
I've been a member for just over two years now, but I've tinkered around with my plan a lot in that time.
Edit: That information wasn't on my main page. I had to click through their link for more information here.
LiquidMantis wrote:
My Blog: Know the Face of the Man You're Killing
I guess I was "grandfathered in" as well, because my downloads are only dropping from 50 to 30 for $11.99 a month.
I didn't realize I was supposed to feel lucky. I'm not planning on dropping my subscription yet, but they are on pretty thin ice with me at this point.
He not busy being born is busy dying. -Bob
Damn it. I've been a member on and off for 3 years or so and about 6 months ago I canceled due to noticing that I haven't been using it. I then resubscribed about 3 months ago.
Ah well. I haven't canceled just yet. I do want to support these guys.
"Few have the courage of their convictions. Fewer still have the courage for an attack on their convictions." - Nietzsche
XBL/Steam: Rexneron
I was getting 90 tracks a month for $19.99, and as of this month i'll be getting 50 tracks for the same price. I'm still on the fence, i'll most likely take the bonus 25 track pack tacked on this month's sub and end up cancelling next month.
This just in from Eli 7.4's playground: Apparently, girls go to college to get more knowledge, but boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider. -Bill Harris
Twitter | Xbox Live