EMusic
Encyclopedia : E : EM : EMU : EMusic
- The correct title of this } is }}}. The initial letter is capitalized due to [Naming conventions #Lower case first lettertechnical restrictions].
eMusic is an online music store that operates by subscription. It is headquartered in New York, New York, and owned by Dimensional Associates, LLC.eMusic differs from other well-known subscription music services (such as Napster and Rhapsody) in that the files available for download are in the MP3 format, making them fully iPod-compatible and free from digital rights management software restrictions (such as expiration, copying or CD-burning limitations). While lauded by many, the lack of DRM encoding and low price model have made the service unable to carry material from most major music labels, leading it to specialize in indie rock and pop, jazz, electronica, and classical music.
Files
Due to the contentious nature of DRM encoding utilized by competing download services, eMusic has won praise for not including any in their own files, despite that it has cost them contracts with the major record labels. They have openly stated that this is not a moral decision, but a business move that has greatly aided the site's popularity[link]. As Apple does not currently license FairPlay - the DRM format compatible with their popular iPod player, used in files downloaded from their iTunes Music Store - doing away with such protections is the only means for a competing company to offer iPod-compatible downloads. [link].The eMusic service has also garnered accolade from more technically-minded consumers for the sound quality of their files, most of which are encoded using the popular LAME compression application at high, variable bit rates.
Status
eMusic had 1,000,000 tracks available for download as of December 2005.[link] New subscribers receive 25 free downloads over a period of 14 days. After the trial period, unless the user cancels, the trial account turns into a subscription account. Subscriptions allow users to download a number of tracks per month. There are several subscription levels, with increasingly costly subscriptions allowing downloads of even more tracks. As of July 2006 a basic package is $9.99 per month for 40 downloads with Plus and Premium subscriptions offering more downloads per month (at higher prices). eMusic also offers "booster packs" to subscribers. These don't expire and are consumed when subscribers download tracks beyond their monthly allotments.
eMusic claims that it "was the first service to sell songs and albums in the popular MP3 format and the first company to launch a digital music subscription service." It also claims that all of its songs can be played on any digital media player, including Apple's iPod. Nullsoft's Winamp is currently including the offer of 50 free mp3s along with the free "full" and "bundle" versions of Winamp 5.
Selection
Most of eMusic's contracts are with independent labels, giving the service a reputation for primarily offering indie rock, indie pop, punk rock, jazz and classical music. eMusic highlights its lesser-known but critically-acclaimed offerings through a host of exclusive editorial content, along the lines of monthly "editor's picks", columns and guides to help its users discover new music.
With the "big four" record labels - Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, EMI and Warner Music Group - unwilling to do business with the site, many popular artists are either unrepresented or have very few releases available. This is more of a problem in the genres of Top 40 rock and rap music, and less so in genres such as jazz, where major artists spread their output across multiple, smaller labels. This allows the site to feature some acclaimed recordings by artists such as Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane.
The site's alternative (or "indie") rock selection has also been aided by the rise in widely-distributed but privately-owned "minor" labels, such as Kill Rock Stars and Matador, who have a fair amount of big-name talent on their rolls (i.e. Cat Power, The Decemberists, Interpol and Sleater-Kinney, who have been among eMusic's top-sellers). Music from other popular indie labels includes Merge Records (Spoon, Arcade Fire), Epitaph Records (Bad Religion, NOFX), K Records (Modest Mouse, Built To Spill), Touch and Go Records (Mekons, Girls Against Boys), TVT Records (Lil Jon, Ying Yang Twins, Guided By Voices) and Vice Recordings (The Streets, Bloc Party).
In 1999, eMusic made headlines by releasing one of the first internet-only albums by a major artist: Long Tall Weekend by They Might Be Giants.[link] The band would also go on to release a series of monthly, exclusive rarities collections (known as "TMBG Unlimited") through the service in 2001 and 2002.
In May 2006, eMusic added new music from V2 Records in the U.S. The label is one of eMusic's highest-profile additions thus far, with multiplatinum acts Moby and The White Stripes, along with critical favorites such as Grandaddy. However, this music is not available to eMusic users in many other countries.
Incarnations and Ownership
The original EMusic was started in March 1995 by Mark Chasan [link] as the fourth online CD retailer. Emusic and Nordic Music formed a joint venture in February, 1998 to become the first digital media retailer and sold the first MP3 players on the internet.The company now known as EMusic was founded by Gene Hoffman and Bob Kohn on January 8, 1998 and originally named GoodNoise Corporation. In October 1998, GoodNoise acquired EMusic.com , a joint venture with Nordic Music. In November 1999, EMusic acquired main rival Cductive.com and in December 1999 acquired Tunes.com which operated Rollingstone.com and DownBeatJazz.com. Then in 2001, the major label Universal Music (then a division of Vivendi Universal) bought EMusic.com for USD 24.6 million [link].
In November 2003 the service was purchased from VU Net USA by a New York-based private equity arm of JDS Capital Management, Inc. [link] It was relaunched in 2004.
References
- [eMusic December 19, 2005 press release], "eMusic amasses one-million track catalogue", retrieved January 3, 2006
External links
- [eMusic]
- [Who Will Buy EMusic com?] - January 16, 2001 MP3 Newswire analysis
- [A Music Download Site for Artists Less Known] - September 20, 2004 NY Times
- [Goodnoise To Acquire Emusic and Nordic] - October 12, 1998
- [Making money selling music without DRM: the rise of eMusic] - Monday, May 22, 2006 Ars Technica Recent article about selling non-DRM music in an MP3 world
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.