eMusic/Sony article

NankerPNankerP
edited March 2010 in General
Did we see this? This is an article from early March about the Sony/price rises stuff from Inc magazine which i just found via Digital Audio Insider. I hadn't seen it before, although its true I don't obsessively read the eMu board slike I used to.

I would've liked to see some background on the decision to restrict international subscribers but it is an interesting peek inside the mind of Danny Stein (eek).

Comments

  • NereffidNereffid
    The photo accompanying that article (click on it to get the full thing) perfectly captures how I see eMusic. The musicians speak to me of the persistent editorial tone of "We love music! And so do you! So now we're all friends! Isn't it awesome?!", which given the disparity between my interests and the general eMusic interests always struck me as misguided and a little smug, but at least I never doubted their sincerity. But now it just seems fake. Who's in the foreground? A man in a suit. You just know that as soon as the photo shoot's done, he's going to turn round and tell them to shut the fuck up and get back to work.

    I'm glad Danny Stein was able to take his medicine, shrug off being called names, and end up with no regrets. Good for him!
  • cafreemacafreema
    Wow, that pisses me off.

    Craig
  • amclark2amclark2
    edited March 2010
    Don't be mad Craig; I'm sure Nereffid didn't mean to insult all suits.
  • cafreemacafreema
    Don't care. You don't knock suits!

    suit+up.jpg

    Craig
  • frogkopffrogkopf
    or suits....

    DrHorrible2_gal-thumb-550x267-10384.jpg

    Not Craig
  • amclark2amclark2
    case-study-55-DStein-pop_3012.jpg

    Yeah, suit up.
  • frogkopffrogkopf
    edited March 2010
    The way eMusic broke the price hike to their loyal customers sucked ass.

    Seymore Butts
    Associate professor
    Department of Proctology
    Gassy Butte, North Dakota
  • mommiomommio
    edited March 2010
    You raunchy froggie! You always make me laugh.

    Re Stein photo -- Looks like Stein tried really hard to master that "victim" look.
  • thomnottomthomnottom
    The poor CEO...

    If anything that article solidifies the notion that, in spite of assertions by certain users on the other message board, eMusic was not in any financial difficulty before this decision was made. The price hike and subsequent actions have all been an effort to expand the company, not save it.

    I don't blame them for the move, but the whole affair was botched horribly. If they had approached the users the same way they approached the negotiations (price hike first, then get more labels on board) I think there would have been less outrage. The way they snuck things in after the Sony announcement was just plane ridiculous.

    I still get pissed off when I think about how many times they just point blank ignored questions about the album pricing...
  • amclark2amclark2
    Is there anybody else out there who thinks that the box set thing with Warner and the one-day lack of album pricing with Sub Pop were little obsessive-targeted favors rather than accidents? If it was an accident wouldn't they have at least cut off re-download rights on those?
  • Bad ThoughtsBad Thoughts
    Is there anybody else out there who thinks that the box set thing with Warner and the one-day lack of album pricing with Sub Pop were little obsessive-targeted favors rather than accidents?
    I anticipated such "mistakes." I also think the next 5 credit gift will be timed to another eMusic Selects release.
  • thomnottomthomnottom
    edited March 2010
    I've heard that before, but I don't buy it. Two things:

    1 - These were pretty much all the same sets that showed up mispriced at other online stores when they first went up. So it really wasn't that unexpected.

    2 - If they didn't offer re-downloads for them, they would have been forced to issue a lot of refund credits. In that case a number of people would have gotten partial box sets completely free.
  • cafreemacafreema
    Ummmm....thom? I "downloaded" 4 box sets at the 12 np price, but couldn't actually download them on my computer for a few hours. In that time period they pulled them. Based on that fact eMusic refunded me 48 nps. Since then three of the sets have reappeared and I can download them.

    Craig
  • thomnottomthomnottom
    Maybe I'm wrong, but I figure that's a mistake on their part. The unintended consequence of how their software works. Maybe they would have corrected it, but not enough people complained about getting music for free. :P

    In my case the only boxset I got during that time period was never put back up.
  • SortSort
    I'm still tickled about the Charles Mingus set. Five freaking amazing albums for 12 credits. Plus, the REM concert is perfect for my tastes. The only one I got that I'm still lamenting is the Laurie Anderson. I forgot that I like to listen to her stuff once every couple years. Now I have three CD's worth, so I have to live a long, healthy life before that investment, even at two dollars and forty cents, comes through. Holly cow. I got that Mingus set for two dollars and fort cents!

    See how my mind works... move right past the bad to the positive.

    I'm sticking to my theory they did it on purpose. First, I think all the box sets had a set amount of times they could be downloaded at the 12 credit rate. That explains why Coltrane and Neil Young were gone so fast. And it also explains why it took them a week to fix other less popular ones. I mean it cannot be very hard to pull an album off the site, and it's not like they didn't know. And finally, they did write something like, "And don't get me even started on the Rhino box sets..."

    They knew what they were doing. I say thank you, though I am bummed I missed the Ornette Coleman deal.
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