About a year ago, I was complaining bitterly.
Emusic, the independent music website which had offered near-unlimited
mp3 downloads from its site for $10 a month. Suddenly, they got rid of
their discussion boards and cut the downloads to a piddly 40 songs a
month. The website itself wasn't even that great. To be offered
lousier
service for the same amount of money seemed like an offer I could
refuse, and so I spent a month downloading everything I could get my
hands on (when I could connect to the site at all) and then quit, never
to return. Or so I thought.
Since Emusic started, many other music services have popped up. ITunes has been fantastic, of course, since they have a lot of the major-label stuff I would never find on Emusic. Audiolunchbox lets you download indie music, charging by the download rather than by the month. More recently, I discovered CalabashMusic, which focuses on world music (and fair-trade artist policies)
But every now and then, I'd visit my old stomping grounds and see if anything had changed. It had. Emusic was totally redesigned by its new owners. They put the discussion boards back on the site, and added articles, reviews, and the ability to see what other Emusic members were listening to. They have an exclusive new service in which they upload shows from certain venues within days. It mostly seems like a novelty, but if you're a big enough fan and really liked the concert, now's your chance to grab a souvenir for much less than the price of a t-shirt!
But best of all, they added a lot more music. Dar Williams. The Silent League. Modest Mouse (not that I like them that much, but still...). A Girl Called Eddy. Steve Earle's new album.
It's still 40 downloads for $10, but at least now they offer "booster packs", so you're not unexpectedly stuck with half an album and a month to wait.
Darn it, I'm such a sucker. On the other hand, I'm listening to some really cool music right now thanks to Emusic... what can you do.
Since Emusic started, many other music services have popped up. ITunes has been fantastic, of course, since they have a lot of the major-label stuff I would never find on Emusic. Audiolunchbox lets you download indie music, charging by the download rather than by the month. More recently, I discovered CalabashMusic, which focuses on world music (and fair-trade artist policies)
But every now and then, I'd visit my old stomping grounds and see if anything had changed. It had. Emusic was totally redesigned by its new owners. They put the discussion boards back on the site, and added articles, reviews, and the ability to see what other Emusic members were listening to. They have an exclusive new service in which they upload shows from certain venues within days. It mostly seems like a novelty, but if you're a big enough fan and really liked the concert, now's your chance to grab a souvenir for much less than the price of a t-shirt!
But best of all, they added a lot more music. Dar Williams. The Silent League. Modest Mouse (not that I like them that much, but still...). A Girl Called Eddy. Steve Earle's new album.
It's still 40 downloads for $10, but at least now they offer "booster packs", so you're not unexpectedly stuck with half an album and a month to wait.
Darn it, I'm such a sucker. On the other hand, I'm listening to some really cool music right now thanks to Emusic... what can you do.
