eMusic Relaunching, Still Offering MP3s — But Still Limiting Downloads
from the good-for-them dept
When eMusic was sold and ditched their unlimited download plan, we were afraid they’d also end up ditching MP3s and start offering some kind of copy-protected/crippled music. It looks like they still realize that would be a bad plan. The new owners are getting ready to relaunch the service, still offering MP3s. The focus is still mostly on independent bands, but they’re also adding more reviews and written content to help “guide” users through the independent music world. While it’s an interesting idea, one of the joys most people have in working through the world of independent music is discovering stuff on their own, or with the help of friends, rather than professional music reviewers. Instead of going with professionally written reviews, why not open it up and make it more participatory? Of course, with their plans that still limit the number of downloads you can make a month, it limits a subscriber’s ability to sample new music anyway. So, while it’s better than plenty of other offerings, it still seems to be a bit too limiting. The one good thing they’ve done, however, is to partner with a company that records live shows to put those up for download as well — recognizing that people use file sharing apps not just for the studio versions of recordings, but also for live and bootleg recordings.
