Jump to content

Recent Down Loads And Additions From E - Music


Soulstation1

Recommended Posts

I am trying to take the approach of instead of what you had compare it to the way it is.

Take the CTI catalog for example. If I want Joe Farrell Moon Germs which has four tracks its going to cost me 12 credits. That sucks compared to that it would have cost me four credits in June. With my account that record comes out to about $3.50. Not great.. but I haven’t been able to find it on vinyl or cd anywhere in the bay area (I missed it when the last re-release came out thinking I would grab it later) for the last two years. My options on Amazon are either buy the MP3 for 9.99 or a used cd for 21.99. In that respect 3.50 is a deal.

I did some digging last night and grabed some single CTI tracks like Deonato’s Also Sprach Zarathustra and Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun. Geoerge Benson’s So What and Gentle Rain, White Rabbit and California Dreamin.

But I have those on vinyl already and I was happy to just cherry pick the single tracks I want. I also grabbed Herbie’s Hang Up You Hang Ups and Steppin' in It.

Sometimes the 12 disc download works in your favor like the Glen Gould Bach English Suites which are 22 tracks for 12 which are amazing and I love.

The thing that is different is that your less wiling to just take a chance on the unknown now but bargains can be had. Willing to give it another month to see how it plays out.

But yes 24 credits for Big Fun and making all the Soul Notes that are 2 or 3 tracks 12 does stink. I think something like 2 tracks cost you 4, 4 costs you 8 would be more accepting to handle.

Edited by WorldB3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 1k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

The UK e-music has a new button which tells you how many credits the album costs. At present this is exactly the same as the tracks. I suspect this will change.

One thing I did notice was the recent Jarrett had one track (the longest) unavailable for separate download, encouaging the full album acquisition - something common on the main sites. E-music has often had 'this track is currently unavailable for download' before, but it seemed a bit random. This new approach seems a bit more systematic - maybe the bigger companies are requiring this to avoid cherry picking. As I generally download full albums not a big issue - except if it happens in the classical area where I'm often trying to avoid duplicating works.

For me with the overall changes it will be a case of seeing what is cost effective. If it's cheaper off e-music, I'll go there. If it can be had cheaper elsewhere (as the 'Classics' albums can be had from Amazon_mp3), then I'll go there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What eMusic's new management is doing: nope. They've effectively decided to iTunes-ize the site, and I have no sympathy for that approach.

I think they've really screwed up in the way the "new eMusic" has been presented to current subscribers - they certainly have been anything but forthcoming and willing to reply to questions and queries.

I'm throwing in the towel by the end of this month.

Edited by seeline
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't say I'm happy about the new pricing structure. On the other hand I'm not surprised.

Just like when they got rid of the "unlimited" DL policy, the way the pricing has been here, it just didn't seem sustainable. If for no other reason than the labels were going to want more money per album (as opposed to "per track"). As someone mentioned, labels like Black Saint/Soul Note could not possibly be making any money from this business model. They would have left eMusic sooner or later, anyway.

Like many others, my sub is still good until January, so I've got some time to contemplate continuing. I'm inclined to go with Bev's reasoning: "... it will be a case of seeing what is cost effective. If it's cheaper off e-music, I'll go there. If it can be had cheaper elsewhere (as the 'Classics' albums can be had from Amazon_mp3), then I'll go there."

Edited by BFrank
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I take Seeline's point about lack of communication - I'd know nothing about these changes if it was not for this board. The Home page of the UK site is full of recommendations for my listening and what exciting indie-rock album has just appeared - but no mention of what is changing on the site.

If they are going to compete with iTunes they are also going to need to be quicker in getting things up - the new ECMs have been appearing at iTunes over the last couple of weeks - very slow to appear at e-music. The new Adam Rogers on Criss Cross is out this week in Europe - at present e-music have no download competition for this so maybe there's an agreement to wait a while to encourage physical sales first. But in time I'd have thought as in any other area of marketing the trick will be to at least have things available at the same time as your competitors. I suspect e-music doesn't have the manpower of iTunes and so finds it hard to keep up...especially with all those 'Hits of the Big Bands' discs to upload!

Another irritation I have is the situation with faulty tracks. Given how much I've downloaded over the last three years I've not had much trouble. But of late I've had a number of issues. E-music always credit you for the faulty track but you are left with an incomplete album. When I enquired recently about their replacing a track they promised it would be possible but it might take time as the fault might lie in the materials sent from the record company.

Disappointingly, one of the worst offenders is ECM - normally just a single loud click or dropout but still unacceptable, especially on a label once renowned for its pristine pressings. I downloaded a particularly mauled Dino Saluzzi a few weeks back. I don't think this is an e-music problem...I've had a couple of similar experiences with ECMs downloaded elsewhere. I get the impression the transferring of ECM to downloads was hurried, without proper listen throughs. Disappointing, as I said before.

All blips of a new technology finding its way, I'm sure, but irritating nonetheless.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To reply to Bev (and some other posters):

I've been an emusic subscriber for a bit over 5 years now. In the past, they always sent notifications of price increases and plan changes to members, and they had well-worded notifications on the site.

but eMusic's staff has changed. They didn't send out notifications, and they splashed a lot of stuff on the main login page about the Sony back catalog. Then, when you headed to your account page, there was a statement of how your plan was about to be altered, along with a supposed "sweetener" bonus download pack (on the house).

They changed the ToS without telling anyone - via their blog, 17 Dots, or the main site announcement - that downloads were going to be limited, that album-only pricing was coming in, and more.

Their sole attempt to try and rectify this (on the eMusic forum) seemed to be an attempt to gloss things over. A lot of people (me included) have replied to that post, but nobody from the staff has come back and addressed the concerns stated there.

I also wrote to the company, stating that I was cancelling and why, and got a form letter about improvements in reply.

Is it any wonder people are ready to kill their subscriptions? Very bad customer service, all PR.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My plan was up on July 13, and they were going to automatically roll it over into a plan that had only 35 credits a month, instead of 75, for about the same money, I put it on hold for 90 days. Need the money, and will see if anything changes. I'll cancel it in 90 days if nothing changes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will be done with emusic next month. It looks like the way things are going with them dropping my dl's even more for next month and with the new album pricing I will get two albums a month for 12 bucks. I can do better just digging for used cds, I don't mind paying for mp3s when they are priced right but no thanks.

There are two things I want to grab that are o.o.p and expensive and then I am out. It was fun while it lasted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm in until late October, but I have a hunch I'm leaving after then. The way this was changed over doesn't bode well for communication in the future and the combination of increased rates and album only pricing makes doing a subscription like eMusic's much less easy to take.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I canceled yesterday. When I pressed the button to cancel the first time, they offered me a generous bonus package if I would stay. Maybe they are starting to get worried about all the cancellations?

I wrote them a letter a couple of weeks ago requesting a clarification of their situation. Are they raising prices because they couldn't make ends meet otherwise, and are planning to stick to the general model of favoring smaller labels to keep prices down, or are they raising prices just to finance the acquisition of Sony and other major labels? I told them that, in the former case, I would keep my membership. I got back the same stupid form letter that was mentioned above. Why did I waste my time on emusic?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have found emusic to be a big source for my Indian classical downloads. Many of the tracks are licensed via a single label, Sare Gama. For reasons unkown, they have MANY of the performances broken out as single items, rather than as part of an album. Often the cuts are 15-30 mins in length, making them a good value, up until now.

Now, a single track would have been 1 credit. Now, that single track is 12 credits.

Here is my question - will labels like Sare Gama be getting a cut, or is this additional cut being used to subsidize the Sony deal?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why did I waste my time on emusic?

I certainly don't count my years on emusic a "waste." It was an amazing ride while it lasted and still may be a bargain for some people and for specific albums. But because of how I specifically used it as one of several music resources it will no longer be a priority even if I remain as a subscriber at the base level.

Case in point: while the 8-12 d/l minimum makes a lot of mp3 albums now cost about $3.20-4.80, I just purchased a bunch of OJCs at the Oldies sale for $5 each. No way are mp3s a bargain at that price point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ugh. I'm staying, but I'll soon downgrade to the minimum plan. If they plop the DIW catalog out there post haste, I may remain at the current plan. If they apply album pricing to Chronological Classics where I really want it, I may remain on current plan. But they made lots of things worse and not very many better. I hope it's better for the artists and indie labels. It's not for me. Only the ability to redownload past downloads justifies remaining at all. Naxos was a happy hunting ground before album pricing, now it's overpriced. I gues I should grab all the BIS classical I can while it's still track priced.

Edited by randyhersom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

RE: Why I "wasted" my time on eMusic. Up until July 1, eMusic was a hell of a bargain. Not only that, but they had a great selection for the kind of things I was interested in. Also, they seemed to be the kind of company who had a lot going for them in creating loyalty (such as grandfathering in the lower rates for those of us who had them last time they went up.) I even knew the name of eMusic's CEO (David Pakman) because he seemed to be a bit more personally connected to the site's users.

When Pakman left, I had a hunch he was seeing some writing on the wall the rest of us weren't privy to yet and, sure enough, that's what seems to be happening. It's been fascinating watching how a company managed to piss off such a rabidly loyal user base in such a short period of time. eMusic had the kind of brand loyalty companies kill for and, I think it's pretty fair to say, they all but decimated it not just for enacting some radical changes, but by rolling them out very haphazardly and wrapping them in corporate speak and plain and simple bullshit and misleading statements that we longtime eMusic users weren't used to seeing from the company.

Anyway, I've wasted enough brainpower trying to figure this all out. I'm not mad at 'em. They owed me nothing and that's exactly what I got. I'm fascinated by how this all happened, but not interested enough to stick around to see how it pans out. Hope it equalls more money for the indie labels and artists I joined eMusic for in the first place, but I doubt it's going to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm gonna stick around just because I can still get a lot of stuff there cheaper than elsewhere. But, I agree, they've killed the magic. Its like going to your favorite CD store and finding that the friendly clerk (and walking jazz encyclopedia) has left and "the new guy" is some pompous jerk who follows you around to make sure you aren't shoplifting or something.

I already have most (but not all) of the Sony stuff I want on CD, I've pretty much mined out e-Music's back catalog, and I cleaned out the 50+ albums from my saved for later file when the "change" was announced in June; so my "demotion" from 200 to 100 credits a month will be just fine for snagging new releases, etc. (I still have a stash of those 100 for $30.00 "crack cards" that will help ease the pain in case they drop ECM, SteepleChase, HatHut, Blue Note/Verve, Savoy, etc. in the U.S.)

Also, I've started to check Amazon to see if I can get the eMusic "album only" tracks there for $0.99, then get the remaining tracks from eMusic (for $0.40 each in my case) and save a few bucks/credits. Some "album only" tracks are "album only" everywhere, but not as often as you might think. And the math doesn't work every time, but comparing prices between vendors is definitely in order.

Otherwise, I'm paying more attention to Amazon, LaLa, and the used jazz bins at the few remaining independent CD stores here.... snagged a couple of nice Blue Note CDs (Kurt Elling and Patricia Barber) for $16.00 plus tax yesterday as a matter of fact.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If they are going to compete with iTunes they are also going to need to be quicker in getting things up - the new ECMs have been appearing at iTunes over the last couple of weeks - very slow to appear at e-music.

UK members get ECM?? I'm jealous! I thought UK was the same as eMusic Europe, which doesn't have ECM. Huh.

eMusic had the kind of brand loyalty companies kill for and, I think it's pretty fair to say, they all but decimated it not just for enacting some radical changes, but by rolling them out very haphazardly and wrapping them in corporate speak and plain and simple bullshit and misleading statements that we longtime eMusic users weren't used to seeing from the company.

Absolutely right. I'm going to stick with them, even after the new system hits eMusic Europe, which I'm sure it will soon, because come what may they're cheaper than the competition and I'm very far from exhausting their catalog, even after having spent months pumping tracks nonstop back in the days of unlimited downloads. But they screwed up big-time.

Edited by Tom Storer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If they are going to compete with iTunes they are also going to need to be quicker in getting things up - the new ECMs have been appearing at iTunes over the last couple of weeks - very slow to appear at e-music.

UK members get ECM?? I'm jealous! I thought UK was the same as eMusic Europe, which doesn't have ECM. Huh.

Since late last summer they've been building up. Things like Jarrett's 'Yesterdays' is already up.

Some careless transfers though - Imust admit I download with trepidation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm gonna stick around just because I can still get a lot of stuff there cheaper than elsewhere. But, I agree, they've killed the magic. Its like going to your favorite CD store and finding that the friendly clerk (and walking jazz encyclopedia) has left and "the new guy" is some pompous jerk who follows you around to make sure you aren't shoplifting or something.

at one of my two favorite used cd shops they just got a new guy who actually knows his jazz... you can already see it from prices which have gotten much more reasonable in both directions :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This may be why Emusic added Sony: They had no choice.

http://iodalliance.com/press.php?press_release_id=74#74

Sony Music Entertainment and IODA Partner to Create Leading Digital Distribution and Services Network for Independent Rights Holders

Partnership to Leverage Combined Global Online Retail Distribution Network And Complementary Technologies

New York, New York — July 1, 2009 — Sony Music Entertainment (SME) today announced that it has entered into a global partnership with IODA to create a new leading distribution and services network for independent rights holders. As part of the partnership, Sony Music has made a strategic investment in IODA, a leader in digital distribution, marketing, and technology solutions for the independent music industry. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This agreement underscores Sony Music's commitment to expanding its service capabilities to the independent label community. With its independent distribution subsidiary RED, Sony Music currently provides award winning sales and marketing services to independent labels and artists. IODA now brings its proven digital distribution platform for the independent sector into the Sony Music network. With distinct areas of expertise and market focus, RED and IODA will build on their complementary technologies and increase the scope of sales and promotional opportunities that each currently offers its existing and growing customer base worldwide. Both companies will also leverage the global marketing and financial strength of Sony Music to continue expanding their businesses and providing best in class service.

"Sony Music is committed to offering independent labels and distributors the most compelling package of distribution services in the industry," said Thomas Hesse, President, Global Digital Business, U.S. Sales and Corporate Strategy, Sony Music Entertainment. "IODA has proven it has the expertise and ability to lead the independent market with groundbreaking digital solutions. We look forward to collaborating with Kevin and his team on this strategic partnership to develop new and innovative ways to help our respective clients grow their businesses."

In just six years, IODA has emerged as a leader in digital distribution for the independent music and video community. With a catalog of almost two million tracks from thousands of labels from over 50 countries, IODA represents a diverse catalog of music spanning all styles, including rock, electronic, hip-hop, metal, punk, indie, world, latin, jazz and classical. IODA's robust systems for managing the technical complexities of digital distribution and marketing continue to set the standard for the way independent rights holders do business in the digital age.

"Sony really impressed us with their respect for, and understanding of the needs of the independent community," said Kevin Arnold, Founder and CEO of IODA. "We remain, as we always have, fully dedicated to helping independent content owners succeed in the digital world. This alliance will greatly enhance IODA's ability to continue delivering effective solutions for Independents."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, that makes sense. A lot of eMusic's offerings come from IODA. I'm sure they made them an offer they couldn't refuse. And I'll bet that on some level, Sony sees eMusic as a counterbalance to iTunes' near-dominance of the download industry - Sony needs to nurture the competition. They just want to make money at it too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's an interesting aspect to how this could play out. IODA has licensed its songs to eMusic for many years. This says to me they were making money at the old rates. Sony examined IODA's books before it made its investment. The new eMusic rates affect all of IODA's music, including non-Sony titles. Sony will therefore be able to see whether they make more or less money under the new eMusic price structure. In other words, Sony may have a stake in ultimately having eMusic lower their new high prices.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...