Here's what I was e-mailed as an annual subscriber:
Allow me to introduce myself as the new CEO & President of eMusic. After our announcement last week, we received articulate and impassioned feedback from our Annual members on the upcoming changes to eMusic's service. You have been heard, and I would like to make sure we do right by you.
In response to your feedback, we increased your monthly bonus to enable you to continue to download the same number of $0.49 tracks per month as today, effectively maintaining your existing buying power. In mid-November, when we add new content and launch currency pricing, at least 80% of our current catalog will be priced at $.49. Some popular tracks and new additions will be priced higher, but we will continue to offer you savings on even these of 20%-50% compared to iTunes a la carte prices.
Visit the Notification Page to view your increased bonus. Your membership will continue through the end of your term, after which, you will automatically be rolled into one of our new Preferred Annual Plans.
We hope you'll find this adjustment to your account to be evidence of our good faith and commitment to you as a highly valued eMusic member. There will be a lot of music to explore and enjoy starting next month. Please keep a look-out for catalog announcements on the site and via email.
If you have further comments or suggestions please feel free to contact us at remarks@emusic.com
I've been annual (and US) since 2002, didn't get the email, and I don't think my bonus changed.
What they still don't seem to understand is that they changed the terms of annuals mid-stream. Sure, they can say that they're giving a bonus so that you can get the same quantity of $.49 tracks, but that's not really the same. Nor have I heard any mention of how long the "bonus" currency will be offered for.
One can only hope. There is still a lot of dreck and those cover titles that have always been there, being added into the total number of tracks and clouding the issue.
Is there hope ahead for the like of Kargatron and me? I tried again to get an answer about canceling or up/downgrading, only only got a partial answer.
We are currently adjusting the bonuses for eMusic annual accounts in order to more adequately compensate our members. Please keep an eye out for an e-mail within the next two weeks which will detail how the bonuses are being amended.
You have the option to change your plan at any time from the Plan Options page. In November, you will have a limited time to browse all Preferred plans and select a different one. These Preferred plans are for current members only and include a special loyalty monthly bonus. But heads up: if you change your plan to one of our new member plans you will not be able to return to a Preferred plan.
Annual might get a better bonus than already promised? That would be nice. It would be possible to switch into a monthly plan? I could accept that.
Pessimistically, I'm guessing the first paragraph is referring to the adjustment that recently happened, to correct the blatant downgrade you suffered (your point #1).
I have a hard time getting worked up about this in general - I view it pretty basically as a Price Increase. Since my 'bonus' gets me to equity with my old plan for some large fraction (they currently say 80%) of the catalog, it goes, as I said in the emu thread, in the "shit happens" pile for me, instead of the "injustice" pile.
I've got 17 dls left, and then that's it for me. I was thinking that if they offered a sweet enough reason to return, I would probably do it, but I don't think there's any reason for me to continue paying emu at the rates they'll be charging. Besides, I've been checking the Limewire catalog now as I go through the emu catalog, and I'm finding plenty to satisfy my jazz requirements.
I wish I had discovered emusic a long long time ago.
Well, despite having decided to stick with emu for another year, the latest farce of the 'big indies' leaving has almost changed my mind.
My annual grandfathered 90 per month (with them basically paying me to stay under the new scheme) is now going on hold in early december until I see how things shake out.
I'll be very surprised if more labels don't head for the door too, in which case I'll be following shortly after.
it is inevitable something similar to what emusic was will appear on the horizon.
it's mind-numbing the number of folks who don't get it. tvas for starters. the indies thrive at a lower price point than the back catalog of majors. i wish i had the patience to esplain it...
it is inevitable something similar to what emusic was will appear on the horizon.
I'm not sure it is now. I think those days have gone.
Now that higher prices have become the norm I can't see the labels backing away from that anytime soon.
They can sell from their own sites and/or through amazon, itunes, 7digital or a few more specialist places, but the prices are all roughly the same.
Although my opinion might be biased by the stupidly high prices we pay here in the UK - somewhere like eMu would NEVER have started here.
Well, had a re-think and cancelled my eMu account instead of putting it on hold.
I was thinking about cancelling before all the recent upheaval anyway, it was only the amusing appeal of being given more in 'bonus' money than I was paying that was tempting me to stay.
So that's that. 8+ years of eMu over and as others have said, I hope to spend more time listening to music now than acquiring it.
I'm sure I'll miss it for a while, but the way things have changed over there I'm also sure it's the right decision for me.
Was tempted to make my last download the Cinematic Orchestra cover of Exit Music, but instead used the last 3 on some xmas tunes :-)
I hope to spend more time listening to music now than acquiring it.
I don't get it, this should be impossible, unless you really didn't listen to music while you shopped online, which would strike me as odd. Though I guess if you don't count sample listening, it's imaginable...
I'm not sure it is now. I think those days have gone.
Now that higher prices have become the norm I can't see the labels backing away from that anytime soon.
I'm not sure it is now. I think those days have gone.
Now that higher prices have become the norm I can't see the labels backing away from that anytime soon.
Agreed.
I'm down to $0.11, and I'm considering canceling. I just spent my last downloads on new Christmas music, which makes me super happy, but I'm not as into exploring their vast catalogue as much when the price stares me in the face all the time. (It is a great master's thesis in behavioral economics waiting to happen.)
Kargatron, I was still on an old 90-a-month plan at emu and over the last year or so (for various reasons) I seem to have spent less time actually listening to the albums I get.
I first realised the problem when coming up with year end charts and compilations for friends was becoming increasingly difficult - I had often hardly played a lot of the stuff I was buying.
So, by acquiring less music (with no pressure to get more, more, more every month), I'll hopefully make the right choices over which albums to get and be able to spend more time with each one.
Having said that, ask me again in about 3 months and I'll probably be missing it like crazy, so if anybody DOES find 'the new emusic' out there somewhere, please let me know :-)
This is a topic that has come up several times during the end of days at eMu. When I had my regular 90/month plan over there I only occasionally had the problem of not listening enough. One or two albums might slip through the cracks - but more often it was just because others grabbed my attention more or they simply weren't worth the repeated listens. Once CC cards, Amie Street, Lala and 7digital sales came into play, things started to get pretty swamped. With the Great Guvera Giveaway, there's plenty that I haven't even sampled let alone listened to.
That's why I'm working on re-organizing everything and moving samplers and freebies out of my main collection to make it easier to sort. I've also started burning a number of albums to listen to in the car. That's where I really get into things because I'm more likely to let an album be on repeat.
xtrev, I'm familiar with the common complaint of acquiring too much music to listen to - I was just pedantically joking about the literal interpretation of your statement, that you spent more time acquiring than listening. 2 hrs of acquisition a day would be a huge average, but 2 hrs of listening a day is pretty trivial.
Although it is self-defeating in terms of my constant losing war with physical clutter I'm burning CDs to mix in with the "real" CDs on the shelves - it gives me a greater sense of cohesion, and a bigger chance of actually hearing the stuff, on the real stereo no less, or I take them to work to put on there. With the loss of Amie and the price increase at eMu I think the tide of acquisition will be receding. The price restructuring may not bode well for some of the things on my SFL's - when I had 0.25 downloads, or 0.30 crack card credits many releases were more fetching than they are going to be at $5.99 or thereabouts. The new drop doesn't seem to be teeming with bargains, and although there are many jazz and blues albums/tracks I'm interested in, some updating vinyl dinosaurs, there's no urgency at this price point. We'll see how it goes with the new USB cassette deck I just got - whether it gets me to actually digitize those hundreds of pesky tapes, and how they turn out. If it works out I can get those other boxfuls from my storage space, and save a lot not replacing them. Some aren't even in print anyway, but I just want to do something before they evaporate.
Ah, I see where you were coming from now kargatron.
Although to be honest I probably have actually spent more time acquiring and reading about new music than I have listening to it recently.
I get too many interruptions at work some days to make it worth while putting on anything other than background noise or the radio.
Whereas having a web page or 3 open to skim through now and then is quite manageable.
I have to echo the notion of less new music equals listening more to what I already have and do end up with. While only having enough money, credits, beads, or promises of first born children to get about 2.5 albums a month now and well since the Sony drop, was disappointing, I find I usually listen more to these fewer tracks. It does though mean I'm more conservative about what I do choose to DL and that I'm less likely to through some random album that catches my fancy. I used to try to keep up with the newest bestest albums each year, but now if some album slips through the cracks, I'm okay with that. Some of the stuff that gets a lot of attention is quickly forgotten within a few months.
About six months ago I came to the conclusion that I was downloading too much each month - I am on a 100 credit a month plan - as some things I was not listening too at all. So I went to reduce my credits, and therefore cost each month. It was only then that I discovered I was on a grandfathered plan. By reducing my downloads to 75 I would pay about 50% more each month - so I have stuck with my plan. I have been trying to play all the music on my ipod at least once this year. At my current rate of progress it will take me three years. Ok I have played some stuff more often, but I am listening to music maybe 30-40 hours each week most weeks. So I do understand where some posters are coming from
Of course, rereading my post I am no longer on 100 credits a month! I pay my £19.99 a month and get £42.00 of muisc, which, at the moment , means 100 downloads. It'll take a while to get out of using credits!! Especially as we do not yet have varaible pricing or album pricing.
A totally separate aside - does anyone know the number fo non-US members out of the 400,000 members? What prportion are we?
Greg, I went from 90 DLs a month (annual plan) to 24 (monthly plan) when the Sony drop came. I just didn't want to commit to an annual plan, although I had been on one for several years. I have been okay with the reduced downloads, but I have been much more careful about how I used them. I bought some booster packs during the recent sale to pick up some extras that I wanted. No more annual plan for me!
I am in the US, and I don't remember ever seeing any figures on percentage of US vs non-US members. There seem to be quite a few posters on the message boards, but I don't think that would tell us anything about actual numbers.
Comments
Allow me to introduce myself as the new CEO & President of eMusic. After our announcement last week, we received articulate and impassioned feedback from our Annual members on the upcoming changes to eMusic's service. You have been heard, and I would like to make sure we do right by you.
In response to your feedback, we increased your monthly bonus to enable you to continue to download the same number of $0.49 tracks per month as today, effectively maintaining your existing buying power. In mid-November, when we add new content and launch currency pricing, at least 80% of our current catalog will be priced at $.49. Some popular tracks and new additions will be priced higher, but we will continue to offer you savings on even these of 20%-50% compared to iTunes a la carte prices.
Visit the Notification Page to view your increased bonus. Your membership will continue through the end of your term, after which, you will automatically be rolled into one of our new Preferred Annual Plans.
We hope you'll find this adjustment to your account to be evidence of our good faith and commitment to you as a highly valued eMusic member. There will be a lot of music to explore and enjoy starting next month. Please keep a look-out for catalog announcements on the site and via email.
If you have further comments or suggestions please feel free to contact us at remarks@emusic.com
Sincerely,
Adam Klein
CEO & President, eMusic
What they still don't seem to understand is that they changed the terms of annuals mid-stream. Sure, they can say that they're giving a bonus so that you can get the same quantity of $.49 tracks, but that's not really the same. Nor have I heard any mention of how long the "bonus" currency will be offered for.
this is encouraging, i think.
1. Album-only tracks most likely don't figure into the number since they cannot be bought individually.
2. Browsing the albums released in 2010 I see numerous examples of albums whose original release dates were years, if not decades, earlier.
3. It says nothing about album prices.
I have a hard time getting worked up about this in general - I view it pretty basically as a Price Increase. Since my 'bonus' gets me to equity with my old plan for some large fraction (they currently say 80%) of the catalog, it goes, as I said in the emu thread, in the "shit happens" pile for me, instead of the "injustice" pile.
I wish I had discovered emusic a long long time ago.
My annual grandfathered 90 per month (with them basically paying me to stay under the new scheme) is now going on hold in early december until I see how things shake out.
I'll be very surprised if more labels don't head for the door too, in which case I'll be following shortly after.
it's mind-numbing the number of folks who don't get it. tvas for starters. the indies thrive at a lower price point than the back catalog of majors. i wish i had the patience to esplain it...
I'm not sure it is now. I think those days have gone.
Now that higher prices have become the norm I can't see the labels backing away from that anytime soon.
They can sell from their own sites and/or through amazon, itunes, 7digital or a few more specialist places, but the prices are all roughly the same.
Although my opinion might be biased by the stupidly high prices we pay here in the UK - somewhere like eMu would NEVER have started here.
I was thinking about cancelling before all the recent upheaval anyway, it was only the amusing appeal of being given more in 'bonus' money than I was paying that was tempting me to stay.
So that's that. 8+ years of eMu over and as others have said, I hope to spend more time listening to music now than acquiring it.
I'm sure I'll miss it for a while, but the way things have changed over there I'm also sure it's the right decision for me.
Was tempted to make my last download the Cinematic Orchestra cover of Exit Music, but instead used the last 3 on some xmas tunes :-)
i think this is right.
Agreed.
I'm down to $0.11, and I'm considering canceling. I just spent my last downloads on new Christmas music, which makes me super happy, but I'm not as into exploring their vast catalogue as much when the price stares me in the face all the time. (It is a great master's thesis in behavioral economics waiting to happen.)
I first realised the problem when coming up with year end charts and compilations for friends was becoming increasingly difficult - I had often hardly played a lot of the stuff I was buying.
So, by acquiring less music (with no pressure to get more, more, more every month), I'll hopefully make the right choices over which albums to get and be able to spend more time with each one.
Having said that, ask me again in about 3 months and I'll probably be missing it like crazy, so if anybody DOES find 'the new emusic' out there somewhere, please let me know :-)
That's why I'm working on re-organizing everything and moving samplers and freebies out of my main collection to make it easier to sort. I've also started burning a number of albums to listen to in the car. That's where I really get into things because I'm more likely to let an album be on repeat.
Although to be honest I probably have actually spent more time acquiring and reading about new music than I have listening to it recently.
I get too many interruptions at work some days to make it worth while putting on anything other than background noise or the radio.
Whereas having a web page or 3 open to skim through now and then is quite manageable.
A totally separate aside - does anyone know the number fo non-US members out of the 400,000 members? What prportion are we?
I am in the US, and I don't remember ever seeing any figures on percentage of US vs non-US members. There seem to be quite a few posters on the message boards, but I don't think that would tell us anything about actual numbers.