I Take Back Some of My Negative Energy Towards eMusic
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Last week I was infuriated that eMusic would suddenly revamp their "indie" focused niche market and add Sony/BMG titles while raising the price of users' subscription rates (http://mog.com/Eric5776/blog/1332227), mine being over doubled, without consulting the customers. Part of my frustration was that this rate increase was to occur in one month. Not much time for customers to soak in the change.
Roughly a week later, I have settled down a bit. I still wrote a letter to CEO Danny Stein proclaiming my disatisfaction w/ the addition of Sony/BMG catalog. I guess my main beef was selfish. My annual subscription was going to double (if I wanted the same plan). I'm actually OK with a 10-20% increase. That's not unfair.
A few days ago, my songs refreshed to 40 (same as always) and my credit card was charged the original subscription rate I've been paying since '06 of $96 (actually I think it was $95.90) which leads me to believe that since my subscription was over in June, prior to the July rollout, I can "renew" for the old rate. That makes me extremely happy - for another year at at least. It gives me time to contemplate the changes, whether these new titles are worth it, whether the site changes are worth the extra money and it definitely takes the sting off a sudden wack to the head.
My final question, the topic of which I emphasized in my letter to Mr. Stein, is "For the next year, do I stick to my guns and prove that I have no interest in the Sony/BMG titles by continuing to download only stuff from the indie labels?" or "Knowing this is my final year as an eMusic customer (likely) and considering that I've got nothing to lose, do I contradict my eMusic morals and give in to downloading the major label music, if for nothing else, to at least 'get my money's worth' or 'stick it to 'em'?" If I took the latter, I'd at least be able to taste what I'd be paying for next year if I were to renew. I am strongly considering sticking to my original intent to prove that I enjoyed eMusic the way it was - affordable and independent focused. I've got nothing against major labels. I used to work for a major, but there is a place for everything and maybe the place eMusic really wants to be is in a place where they can make a little more money.
WWMD (What Would Moggers Do?)
Comments (12)
i can understand where you're coming from. as an indie artist, i'm not happy that my music will now have to compete with even more big label stuff that has big marketing dollars behind it. i already feel marginalised, now i'll just feel relegated.
as a consumer, i think most people will welcome having indie and major available titles in a one stop shop. of course, the indie will be buried a bit and they'll have to work to find it. and who's going to work to find it, other than folks like you and i?
from eMusic's perspective, i think they just want to remain viable. if that means getting into bed with Sony/BMG, so be it. it's better than closing up shop.
sad, really.
I hear ya on all fronts. I feel as if eMusic will continue to give indie artists proper exposure but I bet for the first 6 months, they will really be pimping the 'indie' Sony/BMG acts - modest mouse, the strokes, etc.
I'm really curious as to the details of the terms Sony/BMG struck up w/ eMusic. It's OK to be a major but it's probably a better time to be an indie. Less red tape to get a record out and more direct income. Then again, there's less marketing and promotion but one can get creative w/ that as an indie artist.
Eric -- great post. I am on a monthly plan, so I will have to switch over to one of the new ones. I will keep it up for awhile and see what happens.
The Sony deal will make eMusic even harder for me to use. It's already hard to find stuff -- I rely on the "today" charts to see if people have found new stuff hiding that I might like, but if they clog the charts up with oldies from Sony's back catalog, the indies will get lost. I hope they can retain some integrity with the chart system.
I am sure eMusic feels they are giving people what they want, it's just not what I want from them. I really don't want to have to pay more for an unfocused site of indies and retro rock. I can just go to Amazon or Rhapsody and get my mp3s there.
P.S. I am still ticked that they list the new Rhett Miller for release 6/9, but its nowhere to be found on eMusic. (Although I did find a couple songs of his I never heard before -- which is nice).
Same here (re: Rhett). Yeah, I have the song he does from This Bird Has Flown the tribute album. It's pretty good. I thought Sonic Youth on Matador (an eMusic staple label) would have been up there by now, but it's not either. There have been times when new releases are made available the day of, but for some reason, I think they're busy putting all of the Sony/BMG business together and perhaps dealing w/ customer complaints. I send an e-mail to eMusic on Saturday (and typically get a response back w/in 48 hours) but haven't heard from them at all yet.
I feel ya in the lack of "searchability" on the site. Even their search options to look under labels, hometown, genres, etc. isn't very effective. Oftentimes, they don't have all the artists from labels made available on the site. I'm sure that's more of a label decision to not include certain artists and probably for good reason. I know labels such as Epitaph and ABKCO (for about 2 weeks) had titles on here and then the next week they're gone. It's something that labels obviously feel as if it's not financially smart to allow your artist to get just 20 cent a download or something.
Back to the searching discrepency - You have to know what you want and search for it. You literally have to think of artists to look up and then often, there's only a compilation available. It's a time waster.
On the other hand, I have a feeling eMusic will make genuine strides to revamp their site and make it easier to find new music, good music, music that's customized for each user. The artwork that is displayed on the homepage when you log on - I never really click on those to check them out. The whole system needs to change to make it easier to navagate.
I am on a yearly plan but I am pretty sure they told me I am not grandfathered. Am I wrong?
You are correct. No grandfathering here. Again, I got my info wrong and realized I was not getting any special treatment (one month out from the transition). I'm upset once again. They even charged me a month out from when my subscription "refreshes."
40 more downloads before I leave...
Yeah, I don't know where I stand. It is still a better deal right?
True. It's still a better deal than anywhere else. I'm sure that was their logic in raising their prices.
stuck between a capitalist and a record label - squish
OK - so today, I received this response from emusic regarding my current 40 songs per month plan...
Thank you for contacting eMusic Customer Support.
Effective Jun 3, 2010 your current eMusic plan will be retired and your subscription will automatically renew into the new eMusic Bi-Annual 210 Plan, which gives you 210 downloads for $95.90.
In addition, you will receive a free 15- download Booster Pack in August 2009 as a special thank you for being an eMusic member.
Geez -- I think they are going to lose some folks with this.
Anyway -- they finally put Rhett Miller up today -- I streamed it this week on Spinner and just burned it for the car.
apparently there were some initial problems w/ posting the new rhett ...from eMusic -