View Full Version : Anyone use emusic.com
basklover89
06-26-2005, 01:17 PM
They have some very enticing offers there. The music seems awesome( I like a lot of independent/underground music) and the prices are great. 50 songs free on signup plus 20 dollars a month for 90 dloads. They have drm free mp3's which is great.
I've been going on about eMusic for some time now. Their music is much higher quality than iTMS, and its MP3 (no DRM). Their selection has gotten really good in the past few months.
You can sign up for a month, then cancel and sign up for another month some time later. I don't feel like there is really enough selection that I'd want to buy 40 or 90 songs a month repeatedly. The key is, you have to cancel or you'll automatically get signed up for another month. I signed up late last April, and forgot to cancel so I was automatically signed up for another 90 songs. I hadn't signed up since last August, so I had no problem picking 90 good songs to download. :)
I bought an HP PC, and got an offer for 100 free downloads from eMusic - that's what got me started. Recently, I also got the offer from iRiver and Nero (but its only for new subscribers). My point is, if you haven't signed up yet, its easy to get 100 free downloads the first month.
rogermexico
06-27-2005, 01:21 PM
I'm a big fan of emusic as well.
At 90 tracks a month, it adds up to about twenty cents per legal, DRM-free track. I first thought that, like bdb, I'd quickly run out of tracks I wanted, but that has not turned out to be the case, and they keep adding new albums, artists, and labels.
There's no risk in trying, they're totally legit, and they could definitely use the support!
basklover89
06-27-2005, 03:42 PM
Ya i burned up all 50 downloads in one day for the free trial:-O. I might do the 90 song subscription and see what happens.
Question: Do songs carry over if you don't use them in that month and have a few remaining?
rogermexico
06-27-2005, 04:06 PM
Originally posted by basklover89
Question: Do songs carry over if you don't use them in that month and have a few remaining?
This is the one catch - you cannot bank downloads. You either use them that month, or lose them.
There's something kinda fun about that mad rush on the last night of the month though...
dharmabum420
06-27-2005, 04:47 PM
Wow, thanks a ton for that! I just downloaded $60 worth of Tom Waits albums for free, legally, and in a quality that's acceptable... absolutely terrific site.
rogermexico
06-27-2005, 04:55 PM
Yay!
One of us... one of us...
wyneken
06-27-2005, 05:35 PM
All this eMusic discussion has given me the nudge to sign up again. I had expected eMusic to remember me from my brief membership last year, but the site offered me a brand-new 50-song trial, so hey.
The first thing I grabbed was the new Brian Eno album, Another Day on Earth. This is really fine work if you were into the older Eno vocal albums like Another Green World and Wrong Way Up (with John Cale).
Then I set out looking for some of the new bands I've discovered on mp3 blogs. This is a hit-or-miss operation, but I did find CDs by Jaga Jazzist and the Euro Boys. The selection of indie rock in general has gotten better since the last time I was on board.
Next in the queue is an old (circa 1970) Pearls Before Swine album called Balaklava, which I discovered in the list of a dozen "lost rock classics."
eMusic is a good thing.
the300Mhz
06-27-2005, 06:43 PM
Wow, this looks awesome. I'm definitely signing up tonight.
otherguy
06-27-2005, 08:08 PM
my friend uses it and he's always raving about it
basklover89
06-27-2005, 10:00 PM
Heh I might need to get a subscription now that my trial is gone.
So a few gotchas:
- you have to cancel if you don't want to get charged month-by-month
- you have to download the songs in the month "no rollover"
And one other that deserves mention: no top-40 radio songs. I'm surprised we haven't gotten someone complaining about this by now; eMusic threads usually contain a few of those "I didn't even use my free downloads because I couldn't find anything" posts. You have to either be a little eclectic or a little open-minded about music.
the300Mhz
06-28-2005, 12:00 AM
Originally posted by bdb
So a few gotchas:
- you have to cancel if you don't want to get charged month-by-month
- you have to download the songs in the month "no rollover"
And one other that deserves mention: no top-40 radio songs. I'm surprised we haven't gotten someone complaining about this by now; eMusic threads usually contain a few of those "I didn't even use my free downloads because I couldn't find anything" posts. You have to either be a little eclectic or a little open-minded about music.
I wouldn't call those 'gotchas.' I'd expect those things. And if you are worried about having top 40 bands, you really should expand your horizons.
melsmusic
06-28-2005, 12:23 AM
Can you join if outside of the good old USA ???
Originally posted by the300Mhz
I wouldn't call those 'gotchas.' I'd expect those things.
Well somebody thought they were "gotchas"! Really, its just some things you have to keep in mind, or they will getcha. :)
And if you are worried about having top 40 bands, you really should expand your horizons.No doubt. Its just a very common complaint. These days I just steer away from any label that's part of the RIAA. It just feels better that way. ;)
dharmabum420
06-28-2005, 01:56 AM
Originally posted by melsmusic
Can you join if outside of the good old USA ???
No problems as a Canadian.
rogermexico
06-28-2005, 02:20 AM
Agreed with bdb that it's nice not to have any "b-b-but where's Coldplay?" posts yet. (Though for the record, they do in fact have a little Coldplay.)
And agreed with the300Mhz that that's not really a gotcha. Where those posts lose the plot is that there's no reason a music service needs to offer one-stop-shopping. That's what the Internet is for! If you need Top 40, you can get it from iTunes (or wherever). What eMusic offers is an ever-widening selection of not-terribly-obscure recordings that happen not to be on major labels.
Cheaper downloads, higher-quality files, and no DRM annoyance... not having access to Today's Hottest Hitz0rs seems a fair price to pay.
the300Mhz
06-28-2005, 02:31 AM
Personally, this is the first online music service I've used. I've grabbed 40 tracks so far, and not only is the selection good (lots of good indie), but I am very pleased with download speeds and especially the QUALITY. The whole 128kbps standard (and AAC/WMA) was the main detractor that drove me away from legal online music prior to this. The VBR rates are great. And avoiding DRM is great, too.
nordstar
09-25-2005, 03:41 PM
Originally posted by melsmusic
Can you join if outside of the good old USA ???
I'm from UK w/ (obviously) British credit card. No problems, and they just invited me back for another 40 free downloads... At first I had problems finding music I wanted, but after some digging about I started finding music I'd never heard of but I liked. :D
For a while I wondered why the labels hadn't kicked up a fuss about offering non-DRM mp3's, but it looks very legal to me.
rogermexico
09-26-2005, 12:36 AM
Originally posted by nordstar
For a while I wondered why the labels hadn't kicked up a fuss about offering non-DRM mp3's, but it looks very legal to me.
It's entirely legal, it's just that Matadors and 4AD and Merge and Stax etc have different priorities than Sony and Bertelsmann.