Emusic Downloaders...BEWARE!!!

[edgeofthorns]

I've been a subscriber to Emusic for close to a year now, but will not be after my current subscription is used up. Why? I subscribed to a plan where I bought 100 downloads for $24.99, which renews every 30 days. Well, my subscription renewed today, but much to my dismay, I only received 50 downloads! I called the customer service department and they proceeded to inform me that they've restructered plans, while adding more "major" artists. Those of you that use this site know that Emusic specializes in "independent" labels. With that said, to continue using my current plan, I'll have to shell out $40.00 per month. Needless to say, I told them that I would use the current downloads and cancel my subscription. Basically, Emusic is getting greedy, wanting major bands to come on board, but the customer will be paying the price. I'm pissed off, because I do want to go about downloading music "legally", but the industry is making it a pain in the ass for the person wanting to do so.

I just thought I give those of you that subscribe to this website a heads up before you find out the hard way like I did.

~Brian~

 

[Diamond45]

Yup - all of us eMusic subscribers are pissed off as well. Not happy at all with their "change". Just like Obama, change is all we will have left

Seriously - eMusic thought they "scored" when they got deals on more songs from various labels. They want to be the next iTunes. I liked them better when they catered to the indie labels and to those of us who liked it that way.

But they recently got some new deals with Sony where they are able to sell some songs from the back catalog of CBS/Columbia Records. I'm sure that cost them a pretty penny. Hence the rates are going "up" by cutting the amount of downloads for each subscription plan.

They're about ready to lose a customer with me as well.

 

[Ascension]

Thanks for the warning.

 

[edgeofthorns]

Yup - all of us eMusic subscribers are pissed off as well. Not happy at all with their "change". Just like Obama, change is all we will have left

Seriously - eMusic thought they "scored" when they got deals on more songs from various labels. They want to be the next iTunes. I liked them better when they catered to the indie labels and to those of us who liked it that way.

But they recently got some new deals with Sony where they are able to sell some songs from the back catalog of CBS/Columbia Records. I'm sure that cost them a pretty penny. Hence the rates are going "up" by cutting the amount of downloads for each subscription plan.

They're about ready to lose a customer with me as well.

Thanks for the warning.

Do either one of you have a recommendation for a legal replacement site that has alot of the powermetal/prog music?

~Brian~

 

[rms]

Seems like your still getting an album dirt cheap

 

[Locust0311]

Its been a big headline all over their website for over a month, so I'm not sure how anyone missed it. It may be more expensive but its still cheaper than iTunes or any other service I'm aware of. I think its like $.40 or .41 a track now and any album over 12 tracks only counts as 12 (so like that new Epica 2 CD live album = 12 tracks to d/l the whole thing). Downside is long tracks must be downloaded with a whole album download, so like the new Soundscape album with 11 tracks but 2 10+ minute ones counted as 12 too. Oh well. Its still the cheapest I know.

 

[MetalAges]

I saw the notice posted and won't be renewing my subscription unfortunately

I used emusic to pick up albums I didn't quite feel like spending full Cd prices on, but once they change their rate and then decrease the downloads you get, it's not as enticing for me any more.

 

[skyrefuge]

Do either one of you have a recommendation for a legal replacement site that has alot of the powermetal/prog music

iTunes, Amazon's MP3 Store, lala.com, etc.

But none of them are anywhere near as inexpensive as eMusic, so I'm not sure why you would cancel your eMusic subscription. Sure, it may seem shocking that eMusic essentially doubled their prices, but they're still less than half the price of anywhere else (that's legal), making them by far the best deal around for paid downloads.

I mean, what kind of free lunch are you looking for?

Neil

 

[edgeofthorns]

Its been a big headline all over their website for over a month, so I'm not sure how anyone missed it.

What are you implying?

iTunes, Amazon's MP3 Store, lala.com, etc.

I mean, what kind of free lunch are you looking for?

Neil

Neil, if I was looking for free music, I'd go to a torent. There's no need to be a smart ass. If you want to continue with this tone, then send me a PM. I'll be glad to dish it back out to you, but privately.

~Brian~

 

[skyrefuge]

Neil, if I was looking for free music, I'd go to a torent. There's no need to be a smart ass.

Sorry, didn't mean to come off like a smart-ass (for once!) I guess I should have phrased it "what are the exact parameters (price/selection) that you're looking for in a download service?" Because that's what we need to know to answer your question about alternatives. You imply that half the price of anywhere else is too much for you, so does it need to be 1/4 the price of iTunes (as eMusic was previously?)

And believe me, I understand your reaction. I too was initially pissed when I saw the announcement a month ago, and my first thought was like yours: "I guess I'm gonna cancel my subscription!" But then after thinking about it for a bit I realized it was still a heck of a deal compared to anywhere else, so I'm probably going to stick with it.

My anger was also tempered a bit by dumb luck specific to my situation. I've been on a 40-download-per-month plan that I pay yearly, and that subscription renewed automatically in the middle of June, just a couple weeks before the change. So I actually won't switch over to the new pricing until June 2010.

Finally, once the Sony catalog was added, I actually found a few things in there that I'm interested in (though certainly not enough that I would have voluntarily offered to pay twice as much for the access!)

One other possibility, have you considered reducing your quantity? I often need to struggle to find 40 songs to download per month...I couldn't imagine needing to find 100. Do you use your full quota every month? If not, then maybe you could drop down to a smaller plan, still pay the same amount that you're paying now, and not notice much difference.

Neil

 

[edgeofthorns]

Sorry, didn't mean to come off like a smart-ass (for once!) I guess I should have phrased it "what are the exact parameters (price/selection) that you're looking for in a download service?" Because that's what we need to know to answer your question about alternatives. You imply that half the price of anywhere else is too much for you, so does it need to be 1/4 the price of iTunes (as eMusic was previously?)

And believe me, I understand your reaction. I too was initially pissed when I saw the announcement a month ago, and my first thought was like yours: "I guess I'm gonna cancel my subscription!" But then after thinking about it for a bit I realized it was still a heck of a deal compared to anywhere else, so I'm probably going to stick with it.

My anger was also tempered a bit by dumb luck specific to my situation. I've been on a 40-download-per-month plan that I pay yearly, and that subscription renewed automatically in the middle of June, just a couple weeks before the change. So I actually won't switch over to the new pricing until June 2010.

Finally, once the Sony catalog was added, I actually found a few things in there that I'm interested in (though certainly not enough that I would have voluntarily offered to pay twice as much for the access!)

One other possibility, have you considered reducing your quantity? I often need to struggle to find 40 songs to download per month...I couldn't imagine needing to find 100. Do you use your full quota every month? If not, then maybe you could drop down to a smaller plan, still pay the same amount that you're paying now, and not notice much difference.

Neil

Neil, no problem. I appreciate your response. I do see the valid point you're making about the service still being cheaper, but I guess I've just been spoiled. Believe it or not, I did use the 100 quota, normally waiting around for two weeks for the subscription to renew. Anyway, I'm going to reconsider my initial reaction to the whole thing, because I don't think there is a better option to be honest.

~Brian~

 

[Ascension]

Anyway, I'm going to reconsider my initial reaction to the whole thing, because I don't think there is a better option to be honest.

~Brian~

l'm with you here. Initially, l'm going..."This is bullshit, they just doubled their price & l didn't get much of a notification."...l mean, l want to get an email explaining the situation...not this hapless "stick it on the website maybe they won't notice" deal.

But, without a decent replacement...it's still viable. Doesn't mean l have to like it...because l see where it's going if some competition doesn't jump in.

 

[mitchgx]

Not a replacement for eMusic, because their selection is pretty small, but I'd recommend everybody checking out amiestreet.com. They have some interesting stuff (a lot of indie, and some prog including stuff like Saga, IQ etc.), and they use an interesting pricing model on some of the stuff. They use a progressive pricing scale, so some new stuff starts out at under $2 for a whole album, and as the number of downloads go up, the price goes up (eventually topping out at the usual $8.99 or whatever). Also, they often have specials where you can add money to your account and get double credits (ie. I got $50 of credit for $25). I haven't spent much time mucking around the site yet, but I did get the new Saga and UFO for under $4 apiece.

 

[FatesFan]

I've been a subscriber to Emusic for close to a year now, but will not be after my current subscription is used up. Why? I subscribed to a plan where I bought 100 downloads for $24.99, which renews every 30 days. Well, my subscription renewed today, but much to my dismay, I only received 50 downloads! I called the customer service department and they proceeded to inform me that they've restructered plans, while adding more "major" artists. Those of you that use this site know that Emusic specializes in "independent" labels. With that said, to continue using my current plan, I'll have to shell out $40.00 per month. Needless to say, I told them that I would use the current downloads and cancel my subscription. Basically, Emusic is getting greedy, wanting major bands to come on board, but the customer will be paying the price. I'm pissed off, because I do want to go about downloading music "legally", but the industry is making it a pain in the ass for the person wanting to do so.

I just thought I give those of you that subscribe to this website a heads up before you find out the hard way like I did.

~Brian~

Your thinking about this all wrong. Dump the service which puts $ 24.95 back in your pocket every month. Over the balance of 09 you would have saved enough money to pay for a ProgPowerUSA ticket. DO IT!






Then resume the service again in 2010.