eMusic Users Revolt Over Latest Changes
eMusic, one of the world's largest subscription-based music retailers, has for the first time added music from Sony's catalog to its store. Most users on eMusic subscribe to the service because of the eclectic selection of independent music it offers, and very few users were excited to hear that eMusic was going to make major changes to its service, including raising the price per song just in order to give its users access to mainstream music that they were not very likely to be interested in. While eMusic did a fine job at communicating the basic changes to the service, it didn't reveal the full extent of the changes until yesterday, and its users are anything but happy about them.
Higher Price, More Restrictions, Unhappy Customers
Until yesterday, for example, users could just re-download songs they purchased from the service (quite useful when your hard drive or MP3 player dies on you). Now, however, most likely in order to combat fraud, eMusic has put some restrictions on the number of downloads it permits per song.
Also, while even long tracks (often in the classical or electronic music section) used to cost just one credit (users get a certain amount of credits per month, depending on their subscription plan), a lot of albums now cost 12 credits even when they only feature four or five tracks. The 12 credit idea was actually sold as a positive by eMusic, as it would allow users to download any album without having to pay more than 12 credits. That's great for albums with lots of short tracks, but now, for a lot of users, this actually brings down the value of their subscriptions and raises prices significantly.
There is also some inconsistency here, as some albums don't yet feature the 12-credit price. According to eMusic, only about 50% of all albums have transitioned to album pricing so far.
Some songs are now also only available when users purchase a complete album, whereas before, any songs could be downloaded individually.
The Good
Of course, there are also some positive aspects to the new eMusic. A new feature, for example, now shows users which tracks from an album they have downloaded before and allows them to complete this album.
EMusic also still offers all of its tracks as DRM-free MP3s, and some albums are now a real bargain, as you can often get albums with far more than 12 tracks for only 12 credits, and while taste is obviously debatable, we have to admit that there is also some interesting music in Sony's catalog.
Is the Customer Still King at EMusic?
Where eMusic failed though, even though we have to acknowledge that it tried to communicate with its customers, is in preparing its users for these changes by being completely transparent about the updates. It's no secret that most users don't like change, and while there is a lot of talk on the eMusic forums about unsubscribing from the service, we will have to see how eMusic's subscriber stats develop in the next few months. While some of eMusic's loyal subscribers might indeed leave, having the Sony catalog in its repertoire might actually attract quite a few new users as well.
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I think you may misunderstand why people buy albums. You seem to suggest that the value of an album is related to its length and/or number of tracks. This is patently not true. The value of an album, over and above market forces, is due to one's expected enjoyment of its content, whether that content is one track or 23 tracks long. Speaking personally, a single Beethoven piano sonata holds greater value for me than entire genres of music (*cough*rap and hip-hop*cough*).
However, I do agree that this will make subscriptions more expensive which is hard to swallow unless they are also bringing in significantly more premium content (again with the classical arena, if they bring in more Deutsche Grammaphon and less Naxos then the price increase is matched by a commensurate increase in quality).
I am willing to bet out of all the people that say they are going to leave only a handful will actually do so and then eMusic will replace them anyways.
I like eMusic, I am down with the change even though I am not thrilled. At the same time, they are still a business and sometimes you have to do what is right by your company.
While customers are important and you should ALWAYS listen to them, you shouldn't bend to their every whim. We would be no where if companies did that.
I'm a long-time EMusic customer, and I'm roundly unhappy with the change. I was perfectly happy with EMusic's eclectic selection. I have an annual plan that nets me 90 songs a month for about $181 a year. When that expires (in October), I'll go down to 35/month for $171 a year. That's quite a price hike.
In an average month, I download about 50 songs by artists I know and like, 40 by artists that I haven't heard before and want to check out. The fact that there aren't a bunch of familiar things to download has pushed my appreciation for jazz, world music and other genres, and has introduced me to artists that now are among my all-time favorites, from Neko Case to The National. I run to Amazon about once every month or two for a new album by some artist that doesn't get to EMusic, and I occasionally search the CD bins for the type of stuff that they just added from Sony.
I think you nailed it -- this is a good music model for people who want a discount on Michael Jackson CDs, but a serious price hike for those of us who like to explore. It turns EMusic more into a bargain bin than a music discovery service. I'm pretty sad about this. What are the alternatives for people like me, who want interesting downloads for their ipods, not streaming services?
I didn't cancel my subscription, but I did drop my plan down from 19.99 a month to 6.49 a month. It's a revolting development.
I signed up because they were offering 50 free downloads as a promotion in a newspaper. I struggled to download 50 songs that I liked. Sure did end up getting a few jazz songs & a couple of good albums that I didn't have in my collection. I didn't carry on with the service though as I didn't like the selection. As a result eMusic got no money from me. Having the new Sony catalogue may be enough to get me interested & consider subscribing to their service (just thought I would add another point of view).
I understand that prices needed to be raised. especially some of the grandfathered plans which were great for the consumer not so great for the labels and bands. But the price hike as others have mentioned is great for those looking for a value bin style service. I am giddy about their selection of elvis. I don't listen to radio, and I look to emusic for new and interesting bands. at this price tier I cannot afford to continue gambling on bands.
I think their is a lot of hot air going around. We will have to see how many users will walk away and stay away. I will wait it out and see. as others have mentioned the increased value for something like a Dylan album would be quite higher than some of the smaller bands that I don't listen to quite as often. But as is, once I fill out my collection with new sony artists there will be little reason for me to stay. I already have a lot of Dylan's work.
I believe that Emusic will lose a lot of their old users. But this new Emusic that is emrging does not cater to the music troll that feeds off of inexpensive downloads at high volumes. This new service is perfectly tailored to the every day person that isn't especially music savvy, and doesn't need all that many downloads per month. Think of all the music fans flocking to get Michael Jackson's back catalog. This is the new demographic that emusic wants to ensnare on their trip to the majors.
the real question is will the strategy work in the long run. The old Emusic had 400,000 loyal fans that paid for music month in and month out. The new demographic that they seek is the same reason P2P sites thrive. This demographic no longer believes in paying for antiquated music. Emusic has to convince them that they do, and should do so on a monthly basis.
I noticed that the new language talks about reasonable numbers of copies of downloads. A year ago, they said you own the music and you can download it as many times as you like. And if you look at their new prices of subscriptions, the lowest cost per song is 50 cents per song. For a ten track song, that is far more than getting a used copy from Amazon even with shipping. And the price increases are significant. There are also numerous errors in the "rollout'." For example, I had already chose what plan I wanted to convert to, yet the next time I signed it said I would get 30 downloads for $9.99 per month. A minor error, but no subscription is available for that amount.
As an occasional eMusic user (i.e. when they entice me back for a month with extra freebies), I can see both sides. I am definitely excited for the catalog expansion that the Sony deal brings, and while the price changes are unfortunate, eMusic is still a much better deal than anything else out there--especially since they now have much larger catalog.
As far as the long-term subscribers, in particular those loyal to the indie cred of eMusic, as long as the site's editors and reviewers continue to highlight obscure and non-mainstream music and not over-focus on the new Sony stuff, the site should be fine.
There are albums which are a lot cheaper now. E. g., the 40 songs of "The Biggest Reggae One-Drop Anthems 2006" only cost 15 credits.
They seem to be screwing the customer because the longer albums are still more than 12 credits, but the 9/10 song albums are all 12 credits now. Way to cheat your customers, emusic!
I'm ending my subscription this month.
we are leaving in droves...
I have been an emusic subscriber for over four years and was one of the customers grandfathered in to the old fee structures (65 downloads/14.99 month). I've always been happy with emusic. I appreciate that they've offered something different, less mainstream music and loads of classics.
Perhaps it was too good to last. Personally I think their business decisions of late are missteps in the wrong direction. What has always set emusic apart was that they were the online equivalent to that independent record shop where I spent countless hours and dollars. I could always find some great rare tracks, old hits and discover new artists.
There are plenty of online mega-music stores (Amazon and iTunes being the top two) who have been at it longer and offer massive music libraries, and at times a better customer experience. If emusic wants to change, good for them, but I for one am very disappointed.
We had a great run emusic...I'll miss you. Best of luck. I won't forget the good times we had together.
Been an eMusic subscriber for 9 years (yes, one of those eMusic "Trolls" who's tastes just happen to extend beyond what I was listening to when I was 18 years old), and the changes to eMusic launched in July '09 stagger the imagination in their arrogance and absurdity. Yet another example of questionable executive leadership making decisions that may ultimately spell the demise of the company. They rolled the dice on this one, and I think this time they'll lose. At least they lost me, and my only hope is that others will follow suit in droves so we can collectively send a strong message to these buffoons. Will they capitulate? Most likely not (after all, it was the disastrous combination of ignorance and arrogance on the part of eMusic leadership that caused this situation) - likely they'll concoct a litany of bogus reasons for their membership and revenue decline, and announce a fantastic "new" plan to put the service back on track!
I don't know how many years I've been with eMusic, but I think it was right after they switched over to monthly subscriptions. I have evangelized about them to anyone who would listen.
Yep, I'm also a music "troll" (what a stupid thing to say, danny -- anybody who isn't just like you is a troll?). I am currently paying $19.95/mo for 90 downloads and I spend hours listening to tracks and planning what to add to my collection. On July 24, my plan cost will rise by a small amount, but my downloads will decrease to 50. That's almost a 100% price hike.
Watch for September to be the month when eMusic crashes. Next month they're giving all of us oldies a 25-download bonus pack to pacify us, and a lot of us are staying around for that last chance to download some stuff from our Saved lists. Then I'm gone. I'll be at Amie St if anybody is lookin' for me.
5 year subscriber to eMusic. $19.99 a month plan/90 downloads. This will be my last month subscribing to eMusic. Really bummed that this happened, but with tough economical times, it was one expense that I could justify treating myself to. Now, it's just not worth it.
I've been an eMusic member since 2003 and every month I look forward to discovering all the great independent music that's way more appealing to me than any mainstream stuff offered on iTunes/Amazon. When I logged in and saw that they'd changed my plan I was pretty bummed out. I called and got very lame general statements about Sony, blah, blah, blah. Needless to say, I was not impressed with their reasoning as to why this service would continue to appeal to me. They've stripped eMusic of everything that made me love it. And they've replaced it with a wanna-be version of iTunes. Boo! I hope they go bankrupt! And I hope everyone cancels like I did today. They deserve it.
I had my downloads cut from 50 to 30. I too am not happy about it. Emusic may still be cheaper than iTunes or Amazon, but its still not so much of a great deal now. Much of Emusic selections have markedly lower bit rates, so the sound quality isn't nearly as good as its competitors. For example, its very common to find mp3 tracks on Emusic with 175 kbps VBR sound quality. In contrast, Amazon's mp3's are always 256 kbps VBR and iTunes is 256 kbps AAC! So, considering Emusic's significantly inferior sound quality coupled with the almost doubling of their price, I am hoping Emusic comes to their senses soon, or I too will cancel the subscription that I've had for the last 4 years.
What business can survive by driving away its most loyal customers?
Has anyone noticed that the eMusic.com site is not working? I've been trying to access it for days. I have a flyer that came in an MP-3 player I purchased for my daugher a few days ago (today is 11-23-09) and it tells you to go to eMusic.com for music downloads for the product I bought. However, the site is unavailable. Has anyone else noticed this? I've tried it thru Firefox and thru Internet Explorer - same results. Help!