I’ve been a loyal subscriber to eMusic for years. I love the service and hope that bringing on major labels won’t change the service. I don’t want to have to pay more per month to access mainstream label tracks.
The model works now because the price is right. Be careful messing with a good thing.

DO NOT WANT

YES!!! I just hope they strike a deal with every major label without jacking up the prices and BANKRUPT ITUNES!!!! The only way iTunes will stop ripping off people is if there’s some COMPETITION!!!

I am not a fan of this. My plan is set to essentially double the cost of downloads. The reason I subscribe to eMusic is to experiment with small label artists. Because the costs have been low, I’ve been willing to try out artists I would otherwise never download. With this gone, there will be no reason for me to remain a subscriber.

I have been an eMusic subscriber for years at the $19.99 for 75 downloads tier. It is a nice, cost-effective way to get into new artists (about $3.25 per album at $0.26/track). Thing I’ve discovered – I barely listen to any of these albums past an intial pass or so. If eMusic raises the price even a penny – it will be cheaper for me to buy 2 CDs I really want per month at Best Buy, and/or deep discounted MP3s on Amazon’s quite awesome “sale of the day” page (the new U2, Morrissey and Lily Allen albums were only $3.99 their first week out). I hope eMusic stays true to its indie labels and roots – I’d hate to see deserving artists like British Sea Power and Jarvis Cocker get pushed out of the top 10 list by a 2 year old Beyonce album. P.S. Rancid is on sale across the board today – can’t wait!

“Slight price increase” is not accurate. Many long-time eMusic users such as myself will see the prices almost double (a horrible idea in a recession). For my own case, I get forced from 90 downloads for $19.99 ($0.22/track) to 50 downloads for roughly the same price ($0.40/track).

When you consider that eMusic will still have a far smaller catalog when compared with iTunes, etc., this is a very major change to the service’s value proposition.

i was with emusic in the unlimited-downloading days. then suddenly my $10 bought 40 downloads instead of “all you can eat”. i went away for awhile and came back last month only to find the plans had changed yet again and i was paying more for the same amount. today i’m told i’m going to have to pay more in order to get less. why?? to help pay sony’s’ rent on a website specializing in the big names and the kind of music i go to emusic specifically to avoid. seriously, i HAVE “thriller” and “born to run”. and if i didn’t, there’s a fantastic used shop downtown that still needs my business. i went to the site to find music like tinariwen; where else would i have heard about sahara-desert middle eastern blues?? emusic filled a niche, and now they’ve climbed out of it and are busy shoveling it in. enjoy your big names, emusic. i have other plans.

I have also been a loyal subsriber to emusic since the beginning of 06′. I will be leaving Emusic before June 28th due to this blasphemy. I mainly use this service to experiment with smaller independent labels and it hurts that this has been taken from us. My plan was originally grandfathered and I was receiving 90 downloads a month to experiment, not to download from major labels. Emusic has fallen victim to the corporate monster. 3 awesome years of downloading excellent electronic and hip hop music are now over and I will be searching other avenues to obtain it. I’m sure i’m not the only one feeling this way about this. I hope they learn their lesson about their greed.

I think eMusic should allow current members the option of keeping their indie-only price plans – WHILE offering one and all the option of full site access at the new rates. Buying the new Rancid box set (2CDs, 1 DVD, 4 guitar picks, 1 booklet, 1 poster) for $11.99 (at Amazon and Best Buy) has made me a believer in how much fun buying actual hard copy records used to be…. as opposed to the new Iggy Pop which, turns out, has such non-existent packaging, I would have been better off buying the download (The CD cost $13.99 – I couldn’t help myself, it’s freakin Iggy Pop).

Have to agree with just about everyone on this. eMusic is brilliant because it allows you to experiment on artists you’ve never heard of at a low cost. By all means add the majors, but they need to rethink their subscriptions. Maybe cheaper ones for indies, more expensive for the majors. Most people would take a combination of both.

It may seem like a rip off, but many labels were getting ready to leave if Emusic did not up their prices. The problem was real and they couldn’t dodge it forever. artists get a set rate, and the amount that emusic gave them did not pay the bills. plain and simple. But once all the good artists are downloaded it will be hard to justify the price. since its the indie stuff that made the web site worth while.

I’ve been a subscriber since ‘04. I don’t mind paying more for indie music – it is probably the right thing to do. But, by adding a major label (and making us pay for music we don’t really want), I feel, betrays the basic fabric of eMusic. eMusic was different, it was refreshing… I think those days will be over sometime soon.

the plans have changed i am glad that i did get my premium plan of 75 downloads for $19.99 instead of 50 downloads for $20.79 or the same 75 downlloads for $30.99, will our unused downloads now carry over to the next month, at least?

one more thing i still can’t find “Hot Fun in the SummerTime” by Sly and the Family Stone

Whoever thinks that is a “slight” price increase must have money to burn. I have been a loyal eMusic subscriber for years, mainly because of the high jazz content from the 40’s to 60’s. I’m not much interested in mainstream pop. As always, corporate greed can’t resist destroying a successful user-friendly craft business. I feel betrayed, and consequently will probably cut my plan right down to about a third or leave entirely.

Whine, whine whine. I used to pay for 50 downloads a month. They cut it back to 35. HOWEVER, now longer albums (>12 tracks) download at the price of 12 tracks. I’ve downloaded two 20 track albums already–recouping the lost cost.