Bye eMusic

Well, I’ve finally given up completely on eMusic. Too bad really as I use to love their products and their services. If you want to figure out how to piss off your core customer base, you can learn a great deal from these people.

I signed up for eMusic years ago when choices were limited for good music. Particularly music outside the mainstream. Their site was perfect. I signed up for a deluxe package that gave me somewhere around 90 downloads/month. They day my new downloads were available, I was logged in exploring all kinds of new music. It was pretty blissful.

Then things went to hell in a hand basket…

First, the pricing model went from being song based to being monetary. No more buying song credits at a fixed price and using them as needed. I could live with this even though my monthly allotment always had a buck or so left over that eMusic was happy to take.

Second, the new pricing model took me from 90 songs/month to about 25 for the same annual price. Now I am pissed and I send them email. Nice form letter response telling me how I was really getting more than I was before because they added all these labels and artists. Except that these were not indie labels and artists, but more mainstream and oldies. I can find ABBA and Willie Nelson anywhere, so I really didn’t care about this newfound plethora of music.

Third, when I got used to the new model I asked them if there was a plan that would let me buy more music. I’m not asking for more music on my existing plan, I’m asking to spend more money and get more music. No can do they said. I had a plan and I had to stick with that plan until the end of the plan year. I WANT TO SPEND MORE MONEY ON YOUR PRODUCTS YOU MORONS! (I feel better)

Finally, it turns out that while I have to stick with my plan for the full year, eMusic does not. So once again they change my plan and charge me the same amount once again for less music. I am furious at this point and drop them a line to which they replied with the same canned email message I got the time before.

I should have dumped them immediately, but I forgot an let my membership renew. Forgive if not forget. Now all their indie labels dump them. I’m not entirely sure why this happened, but they lost most of their content. What’s left is the leftovers or junk released years ago.

Yesterday I finally gave up and clicked the unsubscribe button. So long guys! I hope things work out for you.