Downloads = CDs, apparently

NereffidNereffid
edited August 2009 in General
So I finally snapped and complained to eMu Customer Service:
Can eMusic PLEASE allow us to download individual discs from multi-disc albums? Here in Ireland we have to put up with "album-only" downloads and no album capping. Some classical albums are therefore ludicrously expensive if one only wants a few tracks.

For example, I want to download disc 8 from the 8-disc set [url=]http://www.emusic.com/album/Panocha-Quartet-Dvorak-Complete-Chamber-Works-MP3-Download/11365386.html[/url]
But 1 of the 2 string quartets has album-only tracks, so I would have to spend 69 credits to get 8 tracks. I won't do that.

Please make the individual discs available for separate download - it's surely in the record labels' interest?

(It's also worth pointing out that disc 4 of that same 8-disc set is actually also available as a separate album - so clearly the label has no objection in principle to customers downloading only a single album)
And got this reply from "Noah":
Pricing on some multi-disc sets is stipulated by record label distribution agreements. That's why, much like physical CD's some multi-disc sets are offered at discount only when you purchase the entire set. Perhaps the easiest way to understand multi-disc pricing is to think of it like buying a CD.

This is one single album and can only be offered as a complete album set and not individual disks.It's also similar to buying a multi disc CD where the complete CD needs to be purchased.

As with other releases offering album pricing, the discount applied with a full album download, not individual tracks.
Let's ignore the fact that part of my complaint was that there isn't a fucking discount, and focus instead on "Perhaps the easiest way to understand multi-disc pricing is to think of it like buying a CD."

Shh! I think I hear the old eMusic spinning in its grave!

Comments

  • mommiomommio
    edited August 2009
    What a stupid response from eMusic. Do labels want to sell those tracks or not! There are albums that I probably would have downloaded a few tracks, maybe even one disc at a time, but now that I have to download the whole shebang, I'm just passing them by. That album only crap has to be a major frustration for all those outside the U.S.

    Yes, and I fear the new eMusic may hit the grave, too. Still have two 100-download cards to use, and I have a little (only a little, just my paranoia kicking in) anxiety that eMusic may fold before I can use up those downoads. October 20 will be here before I know it. I have so much, too much, music as it is, and maybe the time for me to turn in my keys is approaching.
  • brittlebloodbrittleblood
    it's maddening to cipher that place any more. i stuck around to give the place one last chance + it was pure insanity to dl anything...i passed on 3 albums that i normally would have slurped up without a thought, downloaded 7 tracks off 1 recording but avoided the "album only" track as it would have cost me 4 np's...in the end it's just too much work. i'll take a few months off + then give mtracks a try.

    the kicker is that i had 3 dl's left + decided to get the mingus ML rec'd. but it was 4 tracks. oh well...cancelled. then chx'd the dl mangler: 2 trax didn't go thru!!! if that ain't love.

    post emu: so, stopped by the library and grabbed some mingus, miles and monk. stay tuned.
  • amclark2amclark2
    i'm aiming to leave soon to. just not much fun there anymore. at this point the only obstacle to quitting is that i stupidly plugged a 19 volt power cord into my 12 volt back-up drive. so i've got some re-downloading to do. then i'm out. but i would definitely go back if they offered me anything free.
  • frogkopffrogkopf
    I'd see if you can order it through your local library and record it. Screw em if they are willing to offer it for a reasonable price.
  • NereffidNereffid
    Actually 69 downloads for the entire 8 discs is still good value at the prices I'm paying - the complaint was more on principle than an immediate need for a particular Dvorak quartet.
  • JFLLJFLL
    edited August 2009
    "I'm paying."

    Nereffid, you cad!

    I've made a resolution not to download works which are album-only -- it's practically forced on me anyway with a 40-per-month plan. I’m damned if I’m going to pay for something I already have or don’t want. For what it's worth, here's a list of classical labels which don't have album-only:

    Albany
    Avie
    Arietta
    BIS
    Celestial Harmonies
    Centaur
    Channel Classics
    CRD
    Danacord
    DaCapo
    Dorian
    Haenssler
    Harmonia Mundi
    Lens
    Lyrita
    Metier (MSV)
    Metronome
    Mirare
    Naive
    Nimbus
    Onyx Classics
    Past Classics
    Profil (Haenssler)
    Reference recordings
    Stradivarius
    Telarc
    Timpani
    Toccata Classics
    Zig Zag Territoires

    Orchestra labels:

    BPO Live(Budapest Philharmonic)
    LSO Live
    RCO Live (Concertegebouw Orchestra)
    MSO (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra)
    Sydney Symphony
  • NereffidNereffid
    "I'm paying"

    Woot! This is the first time I've been quote-mined on the intertubes!
  • JFLLJFLL
    Quote-mined? A nifty bit of message-editing, surely?
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