I’ve purchased new music CDs from at least a dozen online stores & second hand CDs from many more small vendors, I’ve paid to download music files from another dozen internet stores, & to stream music from three sites, and I’ve ordered LPs & 45s from overseas collectors. I’ve snagged authorized freebies from band sites, Amazon, and a batch of blogs. Heck, a skillful hypnotist might allow me to uncover latent memories of buying CDs and records in brick and mortar stores. There are, in fact, few legit venues for garnering music that I haven’t tried.
While any or each of these might serve a specific constituency well, one online music retailer, eMusic, has certain characteristics that make it especially useul as a means of finding and auditioning new music. It works best for The DrHGuy Sort Of Music Connoisseur-Consumer, i.e., the sort of individual who
- Has a taste for Indie music
- Enjoys discovering new music
- Is willing & able to invest 1-2 hours each month downloading and tracking purchases1
- Is good looking and more than a little charming
On the other hand, this retailer is not a good fit for a customer who
- Is looking for a tune that is being played 37 times a day on the local radio station
- Wants to buy only specific songs or albums when he wants them with as little hassle as possible and is willing to pay a premium for those conveniences
- Is turned off by downloading files or the idea of organizing a list of monthly purchases
- styles himseslf an aficionado who must own the original CDs and artwork. These folks are out of luck as are those lured by the all-you-can-eat streaming sites.
Pros
1. Songs are formatted as MP3s with no licensing restrictions
That means the customer can
- Play these songs in any digital player, whether it’s an iPod, Dell DJ, Rio Karma, Zen Neon, Coby MP-C827, an Oakley Thump, or whatever
- Burn these songs onto any number of CDs
- Transfer them to & play them on any audio player & computer
- Play these songs without jumping through licensing hoops
2. eMusic fees are low.
Currently, there are three subscription plans:
- eMusic Basic: $9.99 per month/40 downloads ($.25 a song)
- eMusic Plus: $14.99 per month/65 downloads ($.23 a song)
- eMusic Premium: $19.99 per month/90 downloads ($.22 a song)
Subscriptions purchased on or after November 21, 2006:
- eMusic Basic: $9.99 per month/30 downloads (formerly 40)
- eMusic Plus: $14.99 per month/50 downloads (formerly 65)
- eMusic Premium: $19.99 per month/75 downloads (formerly 90)
eMusic pops for 25 free songs as a startup offer. One can, in fact, download the 25 freebies and cancel the subscription without paying a cent and keep the 25 downloads.
~eMusic 25 Free Downloads Offer~
3. eMusic offers high quality VBR files
VBR means “variable bit rate.” The Wikipedia article on VBR has the technical information but for our purposes, VBR means the optimal combination of best sound and smallest file size (good) with the partially offsetting disadvantage that, rarely, some VCD/DVD players may not be compatible with VBR encoded files (bad).
4. The customer commitment is month to month
Members can cancel the service at any time, without hassles, and are charged only through the end of that one-month billing period.
Cons
1. Many songs are not available to customers outside the United States
2. The offerings include many unknown bands, and many major labels will not deal with eMusic
Operational Information
Access through eMusic is though any web browser. eMusic supports PC, Macintosh, and Linux customers. Downloads can be accomplished through the browser or with eMusic’s own Download Manager.
eMusic’s 1.7 million+ MP3 files site can be searched by artist, album, track, label, or composer. One can also search within genres (e.g., Alternative/Punk, Blues, Country/Folk, Hip Hop/R&B, Jazz, and Soundtracks). Thirty-second samples of any song can be played.
Most Popular Soundtracks
The site also runs many promotions, including New and Noteworthy albums and charts of the most popular selections. There are informative reviews and columns. Editorial content can be found under the “Magazine” tab.
Top Ten List
Editor’s Picks
The Selections
Don’t bother looking for Madonna, Beatles, or Britney Spears. On the other hand, there are batches of jazz and blues titles by the greats, including Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, Otis Redding, and Charlie Wood, as well as a full roster of electronic and world music.
While Anjani’s Blue Alert isn’t available through eMusic, her two earlier albums, Anjani & Sacred Names, are.
The somewhat difficult to find William Galison & Madeleine Peyroux album, Got You On My Mind, is available at eMusic.
And there are Tom Waits albums:
and Warren Zevon albums:
Also on site are: Aimee Mann, Moby, White Stripes, They Might Be Giants, Steve Goodman, Bloc Party, Ambulance LTD, The Fall, Yo La Tengo, Mission of Burma, Frank Black, Thievery Corporation, Daniel Lanois, Neko Case, Go Betweens, Cocteau Twins, Mogwai, Big Star, Pernice Brothers, Belle and Sebastian, Underworld, Pixies, Bauhaus, Mojave 3, Lush, Throwing Muses, Tonya Donnelly, Kristen Hersh, Red House Painters, Mountain Goats, Mogwai, Cat Power, New Pornographers, Pavement, Interpol, Guided by Voices, Soft Boys, Arab Strap, Girls Against Boys, Decemberists, Sleater-Kinney, and The Lyres.
eMusic subscriptions can be purchased at ~eMusic~
Footnotes
- Unless you own only a small number of songs, have an astounding memory, or enjoy buying duplicate titles, some bookkeeping is required↩
