Well, they've done it now...
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Mark your calendars because in November 2010, eMusic is adding more than 250,000 tracks from Universal Music Group to its catalog, the single largest addition ever!
This addition comes as part of our mission to offer members a rich catalog that is both deep and broad, with every day low prices that make music discovery as affordable as it is rewarding.
In order to continue to grow our catalog and to insure a sustainable business in the long-term, we need more flexible pricing. So we are changing from a credit-per-track system to currency pricing. Starting in November, you'll see tracks and albums priced in dollars and cents instead of credits.
Your membership will continue just as it is today, and your monthly payments will not change. While some popular tracks will be more expensive, members will still enjoy savings of 20% - 50% compared to iTunes a la carte prices.
For more details about these changes, including the new catalog, new currency pricing, and how this affects your account, please read the full announcement.
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The new pricing in detail
Our commitment to offer a consistent savings
With the new pricing system, you will see a wider range of prices, with some tracks costing more and some less than the effective price you pay today. Over all however, eMusic members will consistently be able to enjoy savings of 20% - 50% compared to iTunes a la carte prices.
Album prices
With your eMusic membership, you’ll get the biggest savings on albums released a year or more ago. Generally, albums released more than 12 months ago will be available at a 35% savings compared to iTunes a la carte prices. More recent releases will be priced 25% less than iTunes a la carte prices. For example: an album that sells at retail for $9.99 will sell for $7.49 on eMusic.
Track prices
Most of the single tracks in our current catalog will be available to members at $.49 which is generally 50% less than iTunes a la carte prices. The price of more popular individual tracks in our current catalog could be $0.69 or $0.79. Single tracks released within the last 12 months will be available for either $0.79 or $.89.
You’re probably curious what the prices will be for specific titles in our current and future catalog. Prices offered to members will largely be driven by release date and label requirements. All of that is still being determined and we won’t know specifics until we get closer to the launch date. As soon as we know more, we’ll share the details.
No way is this a good move. I'll give it one month to see if it's really as bad as it looks, but I think they're going to be losing members in droves. A subscription service that's only slightly cheaper than iTunes and offers no rollover at the end of the months (use it or lose it) is not a good deal at all.
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