EMusic
Encyclopedia
eMusic is an online music
and audiobook store that operates by subscription. It is headquartered in New York City
with an office in London
and owned by Dimensional Associates. As of September 2008 eMusic has over 400,000 subscribers.
eMusic was one of the first sites to sell music in the MP3 format, beginning in 1998. It differs from other well-known music download services (such as the iTunes Store
and Amazon MP3
) in that it is a download-to-own subscription service.
While lauded by the general public, its early support of the MP3 format, lack of digital rights management
(DRM) encoding and low price model — all concepts advocated by the Open Music Model
— made the service unappealing to the Big Four record labels
until recently. Prior to July 2009, eMusic sold only music from independent labels.
eMusic was the first digital retailer to sell DRM-free downloadable audiobooks in the MP3 format beginning in 2007. Audible.com
, its largest competitor, offers audiobooks with digital rights management in the .aa format.
eMusic currently offers a number of Membership plans, including Basic, Plus, Premium and Fan. The Basic Membership Plan costs $ 11.99 in the United States. Every 30 days the download limit is reset (regardless of how many songs were downloaded). eMusic also offers "booster packs" to subscribers, which expire after 90 days rather than after a month, and are consumed when subscribers download tracks beyond their monthly allotments. Earlier business models prior to Dimensional Associates' ownership supported an "all-you-can-eat" download subscription. For a monthly fee, customers were able to download as many tracks as they wished from the service.
In 2006, eMusic added two European versions of its online store: 'eMusic UK' and 'eMusic Europe'. Current subscribers to the global site that were within the European Union
had their membership transferred to the appropriate European store. eMusic UK and eMusic Europe have higher prices compared to their North American counterpart, partially due to the extra sales taxes which these stores are now subject to. However, the changeover also included access to labels previously unavailable to non-European customers, notably London-based Domino Records
and artists such as The White Stripes
and Mogwai
. It is also notable that the European version of the store is for customers within the European Union, not customers within Europe.
eMusic launched a Canadian version of its store in 2008.
encoding that was initially used by competing download services, eMusic won early praise for not including any in their own files, despite the fact that it cost them contracts with the major record labels. eMusic openly stated that this was a business move that has greatly aided the site's popularity. While the site currently sells music from the four major record labels, the company has stated that it will remain true to its independent roots and build new product features that are geared towards members who are independent-minded, not mainstream pop-culturists.
eMusic stores a record of user purchases on its internal servers, but does not place any purchaser information inside the tracks that are sold. The service uses the LAME
mp3 encoder to produce variable bit rate MP3
files. Analysis on the files show that the preset used is alt-preset-standard, a high quality VBR preset aiming at an average bit rate around 192kbit/s. However, and contrary to the information published on the web site, files can sometimes be found in lower quality bit rates, including for recent releases. The preview streams provided for each song match the bit rate quality of the full download files.
, indie pop
, heavy metal
, punk rock
, jazz
and classical music. eMusic highlights its offerings through a host of exclusive editorial
content, along the lines of monthly "editor's picks", columns and guides.
The site's alternative
(or "indie
") rock selection has also been aided by the rise in widely-distributed but privately owned labels such as Kill Rock Stars
and Matador Records
, who have a fair amount of big-name talent on their rolls (e.g. 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, Lambchop
), K Records
(Modest Mouse
, Built to Spill
), Touch and Go Records
(Mekons, Girls Against Boys), and TVT Records
(Lil Jon, Ying Yang Twins, Guided By Voices).
In 1999, eMusic made headlines by releasing Long Tall Weekend
by They Might Be Giants
, the first internet-only distributed album by a major artist. The band also went on to release a series of monthly, exclusive rarities collections (known as "TMBG Unlimited") through the service in 2001 and 2002. John Flansburgh
said that "Getting a half dozen or dozen unreleased songs out each month provides an ‘ultimate fan club’ experience."
In 2004, with the change from an unlimited download subscription model to a set-track subscription download, eMusic increased their catalogue content over the next few years, particularly in the Indian soundtrack and Indian classical genres and in the classical music genre and added such labels as Saregama, Naxos, BIS, Chandos, Harmonia Mundi and Telarc.
In June 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 multi-platinum acts Moby
and The White Stripes
and critical favorites including Grandaddy
. However, this music is not available to eMusic users in many other countries and while Moby is still available at present, the White Stripes catalog was removed until Warner Bros. was brought on.
In June 2007, eMusic added perhaps its biggest star yet to its lineup: Paul McCartney
of The Beatles
. His album, Memory Almost Full
, is also the first release on Starbucks
' Hear Music
label.
The eMusicLive Venue Network is 22 independent clubs in the US where live shows are recorded and offered to eMusic subscribers. Numerous shows are recorded every week. In addition to subscription sales, recorded CDs are offered for sale at the venue immediately after the event. EMusic plans to establish kiosks where the music can be delivered directly to MP3 players or flash drives.
Beginning September 18, 2007, eMusic began to offer audiobooks in MP3 format.
On April 2, 2008, eMusic added The Rolling Stones
when they were on their ABKCO label. This includes their music from 1964–1970, plus any compilations made thereafter by ABKCO. The availability of The Rolling Stones
' catalog ended on May 3, 2008.
On June 1, 2009, eMusic struck a deal with Sony Music Entertainment to sell music released two years ago or earlier.
On January 12, 2010, eMusic struck a deal with Warner Music to sell music from its catalog, including music from the Warner Brothers, Atlantic, and Rhino labels, making them the second of the Big Four to enter an agreement with eMusic.
In November, 2010, eMusic expanded its catalog to include Universal Music. With the massive expansion, eMusic will also introduce a new pricing schedule that will set individual song prices based upon the song's popularity. Song credits will no longer be used for subscribers. Instead, eMusic subscribers will be given dollar for dollar credits to spend at the site. The labels Beggars Group, Domino, and Merge will no longer be on eMusic. In addition, eMusic changed its policy on redownloading so that customer can no longer go to their download history and redownload tracks or albums.
As of the spring 2011, eMusic has deals in place with all four of the major record labels, including Universal Music, Warner Music Group
, Sony Music Entertainment
and EMI Music. With the expansion of its catalogue, the company maintains its strong connection to the independent music labels. The May 2011 agreement with EMI Music also included the legendary jazz label Blue Note
.
as the fourth online CD retailer. eMusic and Nordic Music (owned by Kent Kiefer) formed a joint venture in February 1998 to become the first digital media retailer and sold the first MP3 players on the internet. eMusic, then headed by Chasan and Kiefer, purchased Guy Giuliano's internet radio service GBS Radio Networks. The new consortium launched the first online radio network LoudRadio, to broadcast over a terrestrial radio station via KLOD-FM in Flagstaff, Arizona
.
The company now known as eMusic was founded by Gene Hoffman, Bob Kohn
and Gary Culpepper on January 8, 1998 and originally named GoodNoise Records. In October 1998, GoodNoise acquired eMusic.com along with on-line music pioneer Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA). In November 1999, eMusic acquired main rival Cductive
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.
In November 2003, the service was purchased from VU Net USA by a New York-based private equity arm of JDS Capital Management, Inc. Following a contentious period during which information disseminated by the company was limited, it was relaunched in 2004. Relaunch was soon followed by a new format for the eMusic site, significant increase in both editorial and music content and an eventual price increase for most subscription levels. Commensurate with this relaunch, David B. Pakman
became the CEO of the company until leaving in November of 2008.
Adam Klein is currently eMusic's CEO and President. Adam has more than 20 years experience in leading strategic, operation and organizational change with both established and technology-led media companies.
Richard Caccappolo was named the company's Chief Technology Officer in May 2011. Richard brings over 20 years of experience in e-commerce, digital monetization, new media and product development.
Online music store
An online music store is an online business which sells audio files, usually music, on a per-song and/or subscription basis. It may be differentiated from music streaming services in that the music store offers the actual music file, while streaming services offer partial or full listening without...
and audiobook store that operates by subscription. It is headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with an office in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and owned by Dimensional Associates. As of September 2008 eMusic has over 400,000 subscribers.
eMusic was one of the first sites to sell music in the MP3 format, beginning in 1998. It differs from other well-known music download services (such as the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
and Amazon MP3
Amazon MP3
Amazon MP3 is an online music store owned and operated by Amazon.com. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights management from the four major music labels , as well as many independents...
) in that it is a download-to-own subscription service.
While lauded by the general public, its early support of the MP3 format, lack of digital rights management
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
(DRM) encoding and low price model — all concepts advocated by the Open Music Model
Open Music Model
The Open Music Model is an economic and technological framework for the recording industry based on research conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
— made the service unappealing to the Big Four record labels
World music market
The music industry or music business sells compositions, recordings and performances of music. Among the many individuals and organizations that operate within the industry are the musicians who compose and perform the music; the companies and professionals who create and sell recorded music The...
until recently. Prior to July 2009, eMusic sold only music from independent labels.
eMusic was the first digital retailer to sell DRM-free downloadable audiobooks in the MP3 format beginning in 2007. Audible.com
Audible.com
Audible.com is an Internet provider of spoken audio entertainment, information, and educational programming.Audible sells digital audiobooks, radio and TV programs, and audio versions of magazines and newspapers....
, its largest competitor, offers audiobooks with digital rights management in the .aa format.
Status
eMusic caters to knowledgeable music lovers in their 20's to 50's, who mostly purchase downloads of albums as opposed to individual songs, and utilize the site's hundreds of original articles and reviews each month. As of March 2011, eMusic has more than 12 million tracks up from 9 million tracks in September 2010. New subscribers typically receive 45 free downloads during their seven-day trial. The trial account turns into a billable subscription account after seven days. Refunds are possible under certain circumstances by contacting eMusic customer support. Subscriptions allow users to download a number of tracks per 30-day period.eMusic currently offers a number of Membership plans, including Basic, Plus, Premium and Fan. The Basic Membership Plan costs $ 11.99 in the United States. Every 30 days the download limit is reset (regardless of how many songs were downloaded). eMusic also offers "booster packs" to subscribers, which expire after 90 days rather than after a month, and are consumed when subscribers download tracks beyond their monthly allotments. Earlier business models prior to Dimensional Associates' ownership supported an "all-you-can-eat" download subscription. For a monthly fee, customers were able to download as many tracks as they wished from the service.
In 2006, eMusic added two European versions of its online store: 'eMusic UK' and 'eMusic Europe'. Current subscribers to the global site that were within the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
had their membership transferred to the appropriate European store. eMusic UK and eMusic Europe have higher prices compared to their North American counterpart, partially due to the extra sales taxes which these stores are now subject to. However, the changeover also included access to labels previously unavailable to non-European customers, notably London-based Domino Records
Domino Records (1993)
Domino Recording Company, generally known as Domino, is an independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in the United States, releasing Domino artists' music from the label's Brooklyn offices and run by Kris Gillespie, as well as a German division called Domino...
and artists such as The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
and Mogwai
Mogwai
The word mogwai is the transliteration of the Cantonese word 魔怪 meaning "monster", "evil spirit", "devil" or "demon".-Mogwai/Mogui in Chinese culture:...
. It is also notable that the European version of the store is for customers within the European Union, not customers within Europe.
eMusic launched a Canadian version of its store in 2008.
Files
Due to the contentious nature of DRMDigital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
encoding that was initially used by competing download services, eMusic won early praise for not including any in their own files, despite the fact that it cost them contracts with the major record labels. eMusic openly stated that this was a business move that has greatly aided the site's popularity. While the site currently sells music from the four major record labels, the company has stated that it will remain true to its independent roots and build new product features that are geared towards members who are independent-minded, not mainstream pop-culturists.
eMusic stores a record of user purchases on its internal servers, but does not place any purchaser information inside the tracks that are sold. The service uses the LAME
LAME
LAME is a free software codec used to encode/compress audio into the lossy MP3 file format.-History:The name LAME is a recursive acronym for "LAME Ain't an MP3 Encoder". Around mid-1998, Mike Cheng created LAME 1.0 as a set of modifications against the "8Hz-MP3" encoder source code...
mp3 encoder to produce variable bit rate MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
files. Analysis on the files show that the preset used is alt-preset-standard, a high quality VBR preset aiming at an average bit rate around 192kbit/s. However, and contrary to the information published on the web site, files can sometimes be found in lower quality bit rates, including for recent releases. The preview streams provided for each song match the bit rate quality of the full download files.
Selection
eMusic has contracts with both the independent labels and the four major music labels in the United States. Most of eMusic's contracts are with independent labels, giving the service a reputation for primarily offering indie rockIndie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
, indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and classical music. eMusic highlights its offerings through a host of exclusive editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
content, along the lines of monthly "editor's picks", columns and guides.
The site's alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
(or "indie
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
") rock selection has also been aided by the rise in widely-distributed but privately owned labels such as Kill Rock Stars
Kill Rock Stars
Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and based in both Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole as having any one artistic mission...
and Matador Records
Matador Records
Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...
, who have a fair amount of big-name talent on their rolls (e.g. Cat Power
Cat Power
Charlyn Marie Marshall , also known as Chan Marshall or by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer/songwriter and occasional actress and model. Cat Power was originally the name of Marshall's first band, but has come to refer to her musical projects with various backing bands...
, The Decemberists
The Decemberists
The Decemberists are an indie folk rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy. The other members of the band are Chris Funk , Jenny Conlee , Nate Query , and John Moen .The band's...
, Interpol
Interpol (band)
Interpol is an American indie rock and post-punk revival band from New York City. Formed in 1997, the band's original line-up consisted of Paul Banks , Daniel Kessler , Carlos Dengler and Greg Drudy . Drudy left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Sam Fogarino...
and Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...
, who have been among eMusic's top-sellers). Music from other popular indie labels includes Merge Records
Merge Records
Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as a way to release music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expanded to include artists from around the world and records...
(Spoon
Spoon (band)
Spoon is an American rock band formed in Austin, Texas. The band is composed of Britt Daniel ; Jim Eno ; Rob Pope and Eric Harvey .-History:...
, Arcade Fire, Lambchop
Lambchop (band)
Lambchop, originally Posterchild, is a band from Nashville, Tennessee. Lambchop is loosely associated with the alternative country genre...
), K Records
K Records
K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and presently in the bands Dub Narcotic Sound System and The Hive Dwellers...
(Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. They are based in Portland, Oregon. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think...
, Built to Spill
Built to Spill
Built to Spill is an American indie rock band based in Boise, Idaho. The band has released seven full-length albums. Their most recent album, There Is No Enemy, was released on October 6, 2009.-History:...
), Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, USA.After its genesis as a hand-made fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s alternative and underground rock scenes, Touch & Go carved out a reputation for releasing adventurous...
(Mekons, Girls Against Boys), and TVT Records
TVT Records
TVT Records was an independent US record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 25 year history the label released some 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, Underworld, The KLF, Sevendust, Brian Jonestown Massacre and...
(Lil Jon, Ying Yang Twins, Guided By Voices).
In 1999, eMusic made headlines by releasing Long Tall Weekend
Long Tall Weekend
Long Tall Weekend is a downloadable album released by They Might Be Giants in 1999. It was released exclusively on-line through eMusic . It was the first major full-length album released exclusively on the Internet by an established major label band. Many of these songs were outtakes from the...
by They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
, the first internet-only distributed album by a major artist. The band also went on to release a series of monthly, exclusive rarities collections (known as "TMBG Unlimited") through the service in 2001 and 2002. John Flansburgh
John Flansburgh
John Conant Flansburgh is an American musician. He is half of the longstanding Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, for which he writes, sings and plays rhythm guitar...
said that "Getting a half dozen or dozen unreleased songs out each month provides an ‘ultimate fan club’ experience."
In 2004, with the change from an unlimited download subscription model to a set-track subscription download, eMusic increased their catalogue content over the next few years, particularly in the Indian soundtrack and Indian classical genres and in the classical music genre and added such labels as Saregama, Naxos, BIS, Chandos, Harmonia Mundi and Telarc.
In June 2006, eMusic added new music from V2 Records
V2 Records
V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
in the U.S. The label is one of eMusic's highest-profile additions thus far, with multi-platinum acts Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
and The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
and critical favorites including Grandaddy
Grandaddy
Grandaddy was an American indie rock band, formed in 1992 in Modesto, California by singer, guitarist, and keyboardist Jason Lytle, bassist Kevin Garcia, and drummer Aaron Burtch. Guitarist Jim Fairchild and keyboardist Tim Dryden later joined the band in 1995...
. However, this music is not available to eMusic users in many other countries and while Moby is still available at present, the White Stripes catalog was removed until Warner Bros. was brought on.
In June 2007, eMusic added perhaps its biggest star yet to its lineup: Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. His album, Memory Almost Full
Memory Almost Full
Memory Almost Full is the 14th studio album by Paul McCartney, released in the United Kingdom on 4 June 2007 and in the United States a day later. The album was the first release on Starbucks' Hear Music label...
, is also the first release on Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
' Hear Music
Hear Music
Hear Music, also known as StarCon is the brand name of Starbucks' retail music concept and record label. Hear Music began as a catalog company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1990 before being purchased by Starbucks in 1999.-Concept:...
label.
The eMusicLive Venue Network is 22 independent clubs in the US where live shows are recorded and offered to eMusic subscribers. Numerous shows are recorded every week. In addition to subscription sales, recorded CDs are offered for sale at the venue immediately after the event. EMusic plans to establish kiosks where the music can be delivered directly to MP3 players or flash drives.
Beginning September 18, 2007, eMusic began to offer audiobooks in MP3 format.
On April 2, 2008, eMusic added The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
when they were on their ABKCO label. This includes their music from 1964–1970, plus any compilations made thereafter by ABKCO. The availability of The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
' catalog ended on May 3, 2008.
On June 1, 2009, eMusic struck a deal with Sony Music Entertainment to sell music released two years ago or earlier.
On January 12, 2010, eMusic struck a deal with Warner Music to sell music from its catalog, including music from the Warner Brothers, Atlantic, and Rhino labels, making them the second of the Big Four to enter an agreement with eMusic.
In November, 2010, eMusic expanded its catalog to include Universal Music. With the massive expansion, eMusic will also introduce a new pricing schedule that will set individual song prices based upon the song's popularity. Song credits will no longer be used for subscribers. Instead, eMusic subscribers will be given dollar for dollar credits to spend at the site. The labels Beggars Group, Domino, and Merge will no longer be on eMusic. In addition, eMusic changed its policy on redownloading so that customer can no longer go to their download history and redownload tracks or albums.
As of the spring 2011, eMusic has deals in place with all four of the major record labels, including Universal Music, Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
, Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
and EMI Music. With the expansion of its catalogue, the company maintains its strong connection to the independent music labels. The May 2011 agreement with EMI Music also included the legendary jazz label Blue Note
Blue note
In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
.
Incarnations and ownership
The original eMusic was started in March 1995 by Mark ChasanMark Chasan
Mark Chasan is a lawyer, merchant banker and entrepreneur. In 1995, Chasan founded Emusic, and as Chairman and CEO of Emusic created the world’s first online digital music distribution and retailing company and a leading online music and entertainment superstore. In February 1999, Emusic merged...
as the fourth online CD retailer. eMusic and Nordic Music (owned by Kent Kiefer) formed a joint venture in February 1998 to become the first digital media retailer and sold the first MP3 players on the internet. eMusic, then headed by Chasan and Kiefer, purchased Guy Giuliano's internet radio service GBS Radio Networks. The new consortium launched the first online radio network LoudRadio, to broadcast over a terrestrial radio station via KLOD-FM in Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...
.
The company now known as eMusic was founded by Gene Hoffman, Bob Kohn
Bob Kohn
Bob Kohn currently serves as founder, Chairman and CEO of RoyaltyShare, Inc., an outsourced royalty processing solution for the music, book publishing, brand licensing, and motion picture industries....
and Gary Culpepper on January 8, 1998 and originally named GoodNoise Records. In October 1998, GoodNoise acquired eMusic.com along with on-line music pioneer Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA). In November 1999, eMusic acquired main rival Cductive
Cductive
Cductive was a pioneering online music store founded in 1996 by Thomas V. Ryan, John Rigos, and Alan Manuel. It sold 99 cent mp3 downloads and custom CD compilations from a selection of several hundred independent record labels. In December 1999, the company was acquired by main rival eMusic and...
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.
In November 2003, the service was purchased from VU Net USA by a New York-based private equity arm of JDS Capital Management, Inc. Following a contentious period during which information disseminated by the company was limited, it was relaunched in 2004. Relaunch was soon followed by a new format for the eMusic site, significant increase in both editorial and music content and an eventual price increase for most subscription levels. Commensurate with this relaunch, David B. Pakman
David B. Pakman
David B. Pakman is an internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist. As a Partner in Venrock’s New York City office, David focuses on early stage venture investing in internet and digital media companies...
became the CEO of the company until leaving in November of 2008.
Adam Klein is currently eMusic's CEO and President. Adam has more than 20 years experience in leading strategic, operation and organizational change with both established and technology-led media companies.
Richard Caccappolo was named the company's Chief Technology Officer in May 2011. Richard brings over 20 years of experience in e-commerce, digital monetization, new media and product development.
External links
- eMusic frontpage
- eMusic Wiki A wiki by and for eMusic users.
- 17dots eMusic employee's blog.
- Direct link to browse eMusic catalog
- Who Will Buy eMusic com? - January 16, 2001 MP3 NewswireMP3 NewswireFounded in 1998, the same year as MP3.com, MP3 Newswire is the oldest active news site devoted to digital media technology. Notable for its series of essays that chronicled the rise of digital music and the Internet’s acrimonious relationship with the record industry, MP3 Newswire initially was...
analysis - A Music Download Site for Artists Less Known - September 20, 2004 NY TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- Goodnoise To Acquire Emusic and Nordic - October 12, 1998