#1

Seen a few mention on here they use Emusic. I’ve used it for years and think it offers amazing value with its per-track pricing. I’ve gathered a big collection of doom, drone, ambient and modern classical through it as they typically have a small number of (long) tracks per album so it’s the sweet spot of value of money. Must admit it’s getting more and more difficult to justify keeping my 60 tracks a month subscription, this was the first month that Ive really been struggling to choose what to d/l, with a very diminishing return of labels on there now - Kranky, Southern Lord, Castle Face, 4AD and many more have all been there and have now gone. And it seemed like half of my saved list is now a broken link to download not available.

This could be a thread to mention great things (labels, bands whatever) that are still there, and help me decide whether to keep paying my subs … I’ll start with stuff on the Erased Tapes and Moshi Moshi labels which are generally worth picking up and still there

#2

I’ve struggled to use up all my downloads for the last few months. I have also been on it for years so am loath to leave as I get a really good deal, it costs me £15 a month but they kept me on my old tariff when they switched so I get like 30 odd quid’s worth of tracks.

#3

In the same position as you two. I’ve been on Emusic since 2006. I still have the same subscription, £12 gets me £36 worth of music, which was used to be amazing. But the selection is getting worse and worse with so many labels jumping ship. This year i’ve really found it a struggle to find stuff I want to download. I end up just getting stuff basically because i’ve paid for it, which is not a great position to be in.

Hovering over the ‘unsubscribe’ button, but can’t quite bring myself to do it.

#4

Honestly had no idea it was still going when you can pay 10 quid(ish) for subscription based services.

I used to use it around 2006.

1 Like
#5

I guess I still like owning my music rather than streaming it. I am old, I realise.

1 Like
#6

yeah I get that.

I discovered some good stuff via emusic but some months it could feel a bit desperate.

#7

Yeah, that’s the position i’m in now. It used to just be the odd month here and there that I wouldn’t spend my whole allowance, but now it’s pretty much every month.

#8

I remember it being hard to give up because I had a good deal that was no longer on offer.

#9

I just went to cancel but got roped in by the offer of £25 extra credit if I stayed subscribed.
Couldn’t put my finger on what seemed worse, didn’t realise they’d lost so many labels - having said that I still found some spectacular stuff to download with that £25.
Worth checking stuff out on Editions Mego and Ideologic Organ if you haven’t already, OP.

#10

I’m the same as most people have already mentioned - I’m on an old scheme which is still super cheap. I think I pay £140ish annually, and then get 75 downloads a month. It’s definitely harder to find albums now, but I’ll keep with it - I just need to search a bit more. If they cancelled my subscription rate that I’m on at the moment I doubt I would use it again at the normal rate though.

Albums on eMusic from this year that I’ve loved:

Setec - Atrial Flutters (or Raise Yr Hand If Yr Afraid)
Jonathan Bree - Sleepwalking
Slow Skies - Realign
David Kitt - Yous
1921 - In My Veins
Sin Fang, Sóley & Örvar Smárason - Team Dreams
Typhoon - Offerings

#11

i had a couple of free trials of it about a decade ago, got some good stuff for free and pissed off. my friend kept using it for a while and used to discover interesting stuff as a result, i think it’s great how cheap it is per album but i don’t really like the idea of HAVING to buy stuff every month and far prefer and as-and-when policy, particularly as i like to buy lots of physical music.

do they still do free trials? could go another maybe…

#12

wow, just having a little browse of their catalogue by searching some artists, as i’ve often done out of curiosity. they used to have a pretty decent library but it seems to have been stripped VERY bare. that’s a shame. are they on a proper decline?

#13

They updated their site about six months ago, and restructured how labels upload their music to it. Sounds like a whole bunch of them just didn’t bother coming back. It’s been a noticeable and rapid decline since then…

But hey, Blockchain will save it, right?

#14

Same here…used to love it and use regularly in mid-late 00s. I still like to buy music but would rather buy on vinyl (sometimes cd) then just some files when 95% of stuff is on google* play music (which is now tied in to my uploaded collection)…

*don’t feel the best about supporting google, mind

#15

Used it for a few years. That was my main “bridge” between buying physical music and things like Spotify and Google Music. Emusic was good. Got into a lot if bands. A fair enough price for what it was but I’m not bothered owing mp3s. I’m fine with the Google Play Music model.

#16

Having a few months of hoovering some old stuff up then it’s a “cancel” for me - similar to the above I have an old sub so get 50 tracks for 12 quid, so it will be a shame to lose it. I kinda liked its underdog status and being forced to discover new music or enrich my knowledge of older stuff, but there’s just not enough new stuff to keep me there when Spotify et al exist.

#17

Was just gonna get the last few Fugazi albums I don’t have, and they’ve all disappeared, says it all

#18

Had £10 left before my account updated today. Tried almost every album in my wishlist, but they have pretty much all been removed. That was the last straw. Feel a bit sad, but have now cancelled my account. Fair well eMusic.

#19

Thinking of cancelling mine after the next refresh, I used to look forward to ‘emusic day’ to get a clutch of new albums but now it’s just a chore trying to use up my allowance.

#20

There seems to be another cull of albums/labels, and now the world renowned Daddy Lumba has taken over the eMusic top 10 chart:

Capture
Capture.PNG1148×625 147 KB

3 Likes