I used to be proud to be an eMusic member, but starting July 18th that’s not going to be possible anymore.
Back in 2004, my friend Scott turned me onto something called eMusic, a service that would allow me to download 65 tracks for only $15 a month. Now you have to realize that this is back when the iPod was only a year old and before everyone and their grandmother had cell phones capable of holding multiple gigs of music. Back then the only places you were going to get MP3’s were iTunes for .99 a song or illegitimately. The only other options were the places that would let you stream but not own. EMusic not only provided DRM free downloads, but focused on independent artists. Needless to say, this place was ahead of it’s time.
A couple years after that, eMusic changed it’s pricing plan so that $15 only bought 50 tracks a month, but members with existing plans (including mine) did not change and for $15 I still got my 65 tracks. As if I didn’t have enough reason already (eMusic having introduced me to dozens of bands whose music I would never have found otherwise) this made me want to champion eMusic even more and until now I’ve always told people of all listening habits that this is simply the best place to get music for a decent price.
I can understand why many tracks on iTunes sell for .99 because the fact of the matter is that so much popular music isn’t worth buying an entire album. Given a model where artists produce 2-3 good songs out of every 12 and a public that only consumes what they’ve already heard or what someone else has told them to buy, selling single tracks at a cost designed to make up for lagging album sales makes sense. It isn’t the same with many independent artists and the people who listen to them however. We’re overwhelmingly a group of people who care about albums, as we’re accustomed to seeking out good music and not just consuming what we’re told is “cool” by the RIAA, MTV, and others who would see the soul sucked out of music in pursuit of dollar signs and not artistic expression.
EMusic made a deal with Sony recently to offer downloads of their back catalogue of songs older than 2 years. One can only assume that the deal has a hefty price tag or that Sony won’t stand for it’s tracks to be offered at the lower price offered by eMusic because starting in July the number of tracks being offered per month for existing plans (including grandfathered plans like my own) will be dropping, effectively passing on the price of courting Sony to every single member of eMusic. The biggest slap in the face however comes to peope like myself whose grandfathered 65 track plans will be cut nearly in half to only 35 tracks a month for $15.
EMusic is attempting to sell this change as a boon to everyone, a win-win situation that allows eMusic not only to increase it’s own revenue, but provide a larger catalogue to it’s users. While I can’t argue with eMusic wanting to make more money and increase it’s catalogue, I take issue with the manner in which it manifests itself. The question to ask is whether eMusic’s existing members really want Sony’s back catalogue? There’s no doubt that eMusic stands to make more money even knowing that they will likely lose existing subscribers over this deal, but where’s the loyalty to those of us who have been dedicated downloaders for over 5 years? Where before eMusic was a company and a site that I could feel confident in supporting, they have now resorted to the same empty tactics of greed that seem to drive all capitalistic pursuits. I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me, but for a company that has done so much to bring independent music to the ears of so many people – music that is nearly impossible to track down in a physical form in so many locations throughout the country – to make a decision so obviously based on satisfying the masses and the status quo is disappointing to say the least.
I used to go to eMusic to take a chance on things that were new as well as download artists that were difficult to find in my area. With the halving of my monthly downloads I don’t know that it makes sense to continue my subscription, but above the cost is the principal. I’d gladly pay more money for more independent music, but Sony and their major label ilk are part of a dying system doing everything in their power to wring money from consumers without providing anything more of value. For eMusic to support this is contrary to what I believed the spirit of such a site was and while the sad truth is that this deal is likely irreversible, I don’t have to see my money go to support it. When my subscription to eMusic goes to renew in July, I have to recourse but to cancel. It may not be convenient, but given the choice I’d rather support independent music directly instead.
