I just got a rejoin offer that I'm gonna accept, but I'm pretty sure my thread will go dead before I'm able to actually get up and running on emu again.
Got a $1 gets me $12 rejoin offer. Yes, I'll rejoin.
It's been a little while, however, since I shopped the site. I'm hoping the updates to their player bring some positive results. The last time I shopped on emu (maybe two weeks ago), the experience was much improved, so I feel justified to my optimism that when I browse new releases this weekend, I won't be dissatisfied.
I would take the offer if it weren't for the whole open ended jailhouse obligation thing.
Why don't they just go ahead and Amazon the thing. Sell me some credits that I use whenever I want. Without the free downloads what is the point of subscriptions.
I'm immensely jealous of these free gifts I've been left out of. I can't complain having used eMu immensely in their hayday and furthermore having renewed eight or nine times only to promptly canceled, but if they're looking to fluff their numbers each month, I'm willing.
My view of eMu at this point is that I'm like a squirrel hoarding nuts before the long dark winter wherein digital music prices will increase to a point that just doesn't interest me. Many of the new releases are already there - a new Reckless Kelly album comes to mind I saw for $6.99, for 39 minutes....Really? Also $6.99 at Amazon FWIW. I kind of like the band but not even close to that much. Maybe eMu spoiled me, like shopping at Marshall's... I'll be damned if I'm gonna pay full price! Peevish, perhaps, but with the library I've amassed I can just be that way. Still finding new things, from yesteryear mostly, that I want and winnowing away at the SFLs.
Ditto. Somebody rec'd this on here recently, and the samples sound interesting - but $6.49 for 34 minutes/4 tracks...Really? If it were EP priced I might get it, but not at that price ratio. I can't help thinking some of these pricing decisions are reducing sales. They do in my case anyway.
Yes I might otherwise have downloaded it! It is only £1.68 here, because we still pay per track, and I quite liked some of the samples, but the cover just put me off
Even the new Nick Lowe, who is more of a going concern for me, is only 35 minutes and $6.99, which makes me think I can wait until it's a special somewhere or cheaper.
Prices seem to flux especially on new releases after a few months. I noticed the latest Iron and Wine is nearly $9. Also the Gillian Welch that started out at $4.90 is now $6.99.
Oh and I had an odd thing happen with the newest download mangler. It downloaded the tracks for one album to two different places, making me think something didn't download. I was getting ready to contact eMusic, when I did a search on my hard drive and found the two folders.
I often get a sync error in Firefox just about every time I try to download which makes me wonder about this wonderful program.
The thing of it is, emusic is hoping to attract the typical Amazon/iTunes customer. Someone like that is going to say, wow, I can get the new Gillian Welch for seven bucks. That's a buck cheaper than on Amazon. Awesome!
Whereas old-timers are going to say, seven bucks, that's ridiculous. It was five bucks a couple months ago and a few years back, it would've only cost me a handful of downloads.
The customers they want don't build up SFL buckets or track pricing changes or strategize out how to best use their downloads/credits/dollars. Saving a buck or two here and there will be great, and if it's the same price as Amazon or iTunes, it's no big deal.
To me, that's fucking tragic, and it's why emusic no longer has my loyalty.
I have a feeling the customers you describe they're after wouldn't know and couldn't care a rat's patootie about most of what I have on my SFLs. I have to go watch that new dinosaur show on Discovery so I feel at home with the other fossils. On the other hand if I wasn't figuring out how to maximize my intake there's no freaking way I could afford to have interests that broad - I'd be bankrupt. To each his own.
You guys make a great point. What seems odd about emusic trying to run with iTunes and Amazon is that it is still a subscription service. Sure you can add boosters, but it does not work well to buy the occasional album unless you are okay with waiting for credits to refresh.
Maybe, maybe not. I don't know what you have in your SFL. The thing is, I think that emu genuinely does want music listeners like us, too. I don't think they're after one particular demographic of listener. But they are in a bad place that their primary customer base, existing customers, are seeing the price increases (among other problems) and not renewing their subscriptions. This wouldn't bother them so much if the fleeing customers were replaced by exactly the same type of voracious music buyers who come in comparing the current emu to Amazon/iTunes, rather than people like us who compare the current emu to the old one.
People on this site read emu promoting itself as a deal and we're disgusted because we know firsthand what a deal it used to be. Others coming into the fold now have only Amazon and itunes to compare to. Emu probably does seem like a deal to them.
When I came onto emu just a couple years ago, I think I was paying $15/month for, what, 75 downloads (is that right?). Hell, to me it was a great deal. To old-schoolers, compared to the unlimited days, probably not so much. Emu would like to get new customers who don't know anything of emu's past. And, actually, that's not an unachievable goal.
An interesting discussion. In the UK at the moment we have a weird situation with emu. They are advertising the 50 free download offers to join quite widely, but their adverts actually include pictures of albums that are not available from them in the UK any longer - eg Adele's 19. There are also very regualr offers at amazingly low prices on sites such as Groupon. A couple of months ago, for example, you could get a six month plan from Groupon for 25 tracks per month that worked out at 12p (no more than 15 cents max) per track, so I bought 6 sets - ie 150 tracks per month which works out at £18 per month (less than $20).They had a good take up on that unsurprisingly - what would be interesting to know is how many of those were from people like me, and how many of the new subscribers stay after their first six months.
I suspect that they are trying to get as many people into the emusic model as they can before prices rise before the majors come - we have been 'promised' that several times for 2011. Only then of course can they start to compete with Amazon and itunes. I read recently that there are more download sites in the UK than any other country in the World, and virtually all the others have the majors on a pay as you buy basis. What I'd really like to see is a tweo level emusic approach, where they continue on the old basis for basic membership whilst chart muisc is paid for on a pay as ytou buy basis. If prices rise as they have in the States I can no longer remain a member in the way that I am now. I'm currently downlaoding lots of music very cheaply. I'll stick with that and buy what I want when I want, probably in the way that I do now for music from the major labels, ie finding the best deals around, buying some from Bandcamp, and searching second hand and charity shops. And also I'll continue to listen to music on Spotify. All this does make me wonder if emusic is sustainable in the future - hence moves like emusic radio that you have in the States.
The dollar's not quite so strong as you say, but still, sounds nice. As does the idea of two-tiered pricing, but they've been pretty clear here that they have no interest in that.
Mind you the pound is not that strong either at the moment! We have an annual bill to pay in Swiss francs. The cost has actually gone down in the last few years in francs, but in Pounds, which is what counts for us, it has doubled. I am absolutely convinced that emu is trying to attract as many new customers as it can to get them locked-in to the system before prices rise to US levels. Once you start paying a regular monthly subscription many will continue in one form or another. as we all know that is how gyms/fitness centres operate. I'd love a two-tier structure, but I know they will never do it, sadly. But actually it might keep many of us there much longer buying music. But I'm not sure how we could start a campaign for that...
This is a new development at emu isn't it? A free sampler album download except sold as a "playlist" and sponsored by an advertiser - and no track previews, you have to download (not sure what that gains them).
Couldn't help but roll my eyes today at the sense of inevitability at how they rolled out the addition of Queen to the site and immediately had posts from folk who discovered that the Queen albums are a great place to encounter the bug in their DLM which on any album with two tracks with the same title (including of course deluxe reissues with alternate versions on the second disk) overwrites the first track with the second one...
I clicked on the 'download album (free)' button for that Diesel sampler/playlist fulling expecting to be prompted to sign-up/join eMu but instead my browser asked me where I wanted to save the .zip file. Saved it I did.
Thanks eMu.
Bigger thanks to Germ-P for pointing it out in the first place!
Comments
http://www.emusic.com/messageboard/viewTopic.html?topicId=289050#
I just got a rejoin offer that I'm gonna accept, but I'm pretty sure my thread will go dead before I'm able to actually get up and running on emu again.
Cheers.
Got a $1 gets me $12 rejoin offer. Yes, I'll rejoin.
It's been a little while, however, since I shopped the site. I'm hoping the updates to their player bring some positive results. The last time I shopped on emu (maybe two weeks ago), the experience was much improved, so I feel justified to my optimism that when I browse new releases this weekend, I won't be dissatisfied.
Why don't they just go ahead and Amazon the thing. Sell me some credits that I use whenever I want. Without the free downloads what is the point of subscriptions.
Craig
Sadly, they aren't.
I've happily gone through separation, withdraw, and can tell you I have barely missed emu....
I'm halfway there. I quit the subscription years ago, but still get the daily download & free samplers.
Ditto. Somebody rec'd this on here recently, and the samples sound interesting - but $6.49 for 34 minutes/4 tracks...Really? If it were EP priced I might get it, but not at that price ratio. I can't help thinking some of these pricing decisions are reducing sales. They do in my case anyway.
The Friends Of Bambi
I often get a sync error in Firefox just about every time I try to download which makes me wonder about this wonderful program.
Whereas old-timers are going to say, seven bucks, that's ridiculous. It was five bucks a couple months ago and a few years back, it would've only cost me a handful of downloads.
The customers they want don't build up SFL buckets or track pricing changes or strategize out how to best use their downloads/credits/dollars. Saving a buck or two here and there will be great, and if it's the same price as Amazon or iTunes, it's no big deal.
To me, that's fucking tragic, and it's why emusic no longer has my loyalty.
People on this site read emu promoting itself as a deal and we're disgusted because we know firsthand what a deal it used to be. Others coming into the fold now have only Amazon and itunes to compare to. Emu probably does seem like a deal to them.
When I came onto emu just a couple years ago, I think I was paying $15/month for, what, 75 downloads (is that right?). Hell, to me it was a great deal. To old-schoolers, compared to the unlimited days, probably not so much. Emu would like to get new customers who don't know anything of emu's past. And, actually, that's not an unachievable goal.
/two cents
I suspect that they are trying to get as many people into the emusic model as they can before prices rise before the majors come - we have been 'promised' that several times for 2011. Only then of course can they start to compete with Amazon and itunes. I read recently that there are more download sites in the UK than any other country in the World, and virtually all the others have the majors on a pay as you buy basis. What I'd really like to see is a tweo level emusic approach, where they continue on the old basis for basic membership whilst chart muisc is paid for on a pay as ytou buy basis. If prices rise as they have in the States I can no longer remain a member in the way that I am now. I'm currently downlaoding lots of music very cheaply. I'll stick with that and buy what I want when I want, probably in the way that I do now for music from the major labels, ie finding the best deals around, buying some from Bandcamp, and searching second hand and charity shops. And also I'll continue to listen to music on Spotify. All this does make me wonder if emusic is sustainable in the future - hence moves like emusic radio that you have in the States.
There's a challenge for someone!
Couldn't help but roll my eyes today at the sense of inevitability at how they rolled out the addition of Queen to the site and immediately had posts from folk who discovered that the Queen albums are a great place to encounter the bug in their DLM which on any album with two tracks with the same title (including of course deluxe reissues with alternate versions on the second disk) overwrites the first track with the second one...
Thanks eMu.
Bigger thanks to Germ-P for pointing it out in the first place!