eMusic reaches reahces 200 million downloads

Posted about 1 year ago

Artist:

Jason Collett
Album:

Here's to Being Here
Track:

Winter Soldier

I know this isn't keeping with the spirit of National Record Store Day,(Which I will be heading out to my favourite store for) but this also gives me hope for the future of music.From mi2n.comeMusic, the world's largest digital retailer of independent music and the world's second-largest music service after iTunes, announced that it has sold more than 200 million downloads since establishing its current subscription model in November 2003. The total comprises music downloads sold in the U.S. and the E.U., where eMusic has been available in all 27 E.U. nations since September 2006. The company is now selling more than 7 million tracks a month across all territories. The 200 millionth track downloaded was "Fiery Crash" from Andrew Bird's Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum Records).eMusic also reports that it has sold 40 million downloads since the launch of Amazon MP3 on September 25, 2007."As more choices emerge for consumers in the digital music space, eMusic continues to grow, attracting new customers and selling more music every day," said eMusic President and CEO David Pakman. "We've been ahead of the curve on DRM-free formats and price since day one, and we believe these numbers show that eMusic continues to sell more digital music than any other service apart from iTunes.""Most importantly, we are doing a great job satisfying customers' needs, helping them discover music they otherwise would not have found, and giving them a reason to spend money on music," he added.The company reached the 200 million download mark in less than a year and half since hitting 100 million downloads in December 2006 - less than half the time it took to reach 100 million downloads. These royalty-bearing downloads reflect how eMusic is helping independent labels gain market share by selling albums and songs that wouldn't have sold otherwise to customers interested in music outside of the mainstream.eMusic offers the serious music fan a place to find the best online music in all genres, including indie rock, classical and jazz. With deep relationships with the world's top independent labels, guidance from the best music editorial experts and a passionate music community, eMusic caters to music fans aged 25+. It provides all tracks in the universally compatible MP3 format at prices as low as 33 cents (30p/ 43c) a track. http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=108943

Comments (6)

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brendanhalpin says I have to say my experience with emusic was not all that positive. It stressed me out; I was on the 50 downloads a month plan, and after the first glorious month, I found I was downloading stuff I didn't really want just to feel I was getting my money's worth, while tons of stuff I wanted just wasn't available. It's not actually that great of a bonus to get a DRM-free MP3 of a song you're never really going to listen to anyway.

Permalink posted 04/17/2008
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davesonic says Good point. Which harkens back to another post about music gluttony that I saw. I would suggest you get the 30 download package for $9.99. That's only about 2 or 3 albums worth of music. Right now my Save for later list guarentees I'll be downloading music for the next few months at least and by then I'm sure something new will come out. If after a year I find I'm not happy with the selection, I'll quit. And I'll still be able to keep all the music I've purchased. In any case this was just a post to show a digital music business model that is working.

Permalink posted 04/17/2008
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brz says dave- another interesting post. i'd never heard of eMusic, maybe that's not true (but i do know i've never used it). it's good to know there's an alternative to what iTunes and the major labels (eventually) will end up pushing. i'm hoping the day never comes when i have to get my music this way. i still want to have some physical object, the cover art, the liner notes, etc. plus, after reading how many people lost their "favorite record store":http://mog.com/mollifire/blog_post/156496 i feel even more compelled to make sure i support mine. this along with your post about music gluttony makes me wonder - how many people did it take to download all 200 million, was it 4,000 people downloading 50,000 songs or 50 million downloading 4? peace brz

Permalink posted 04/17/2008
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davesonic says I think it was somewhere in between. I agree whole heartedly about losing record stores.Digital downlaods will never replace them.

Permalink posted 04/17/2008
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Charley Rogulewski says i've never gone there to purchase music...

Permalink posted 04/17/2008
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Scotch says I've been a long-time customer, though I'm on hiatus for the moment. Anyway, while I can't always find what I want, I ALWAYS find something I want, and I never feel like I have to compromise and buy something just to use up my downloads for the month. In fact, I've probably got 150 albums worth of stuff I want to buy eventually. And the deal I have, 40 songs/9.99, I will tend to buy things that I'm not 100% sure about just because the tracks are so cheap. I'm only out two bits if the song blows, and it usually doesn't because I do choose carefully. So, I'm a very happy eMusic customer from way back. Never a problem. Just a few bands in my things-to-download-from-emusic list: Opus Akoben, Chris Thomas King, The Roots, Skip James, Jah Cure, Bauhaus, Meshuggah, Mark Lanegan, Doyle Bramhal II, Plant and Animals...

Permalink posted 04/17/2008