Learning from eMusic: No DRM, Convenience, or Selection
Posted on Thursday, October 4th, 2007 at 19:01.
I tried eMusic once. I couldn’t find a single song that I wanted, so saying that I tried eMusic is not entirely true. I decided to give the store another chance a year later.
Lots of Mediocre Products
eMusic’s selection improved modestly between my trials. I found more artists that I was searching for, but only one of the songs that I wanted was available. Concert recordings and karaoke editions of songs don’t interest me.
Disappointed by the selection again, I decided to download the top songs in every genre since I had a free trial for 50 free songs. Perhaps I would find a new artist to enjoy, I thought.
I only kept about 15 and those were songs that I had already purchased through iTunes. I just wanted DRM free versions.
Inconvenient Browsing
eMusic lacks the convenience of iTunes Store. You can’t preview songs in the browser or through the clunky eMusic Remote application. When you click on a song to preview, a .pls file is downloaded and opens in iTunes. I had tens of .pls files on my desktop and in my iTunes library by the end of my trial.
The eMusic store didn’t aid buying decisions. I didn’t know what were the most popular tracks purchased by artist or what music other buyers liked, standard features of e-commerce websites and ones that would be particularly useful in a store that only sells music from unheard of artists. Additionally, the cataloging “refine” methods were confusing because each distinction is nested in your previous selection.
Subscription Flaw
The faux-subscription model of eMusic added to the doomed experience. My music buying habits vary month-to-month. I don’t want to pay for something that I’m not using.
Conclusion
I won’t be visiting eMusic again anytime soon… with one exception. eMusic’s new audiobook section is priced separately from its music store and has a growing selection of best sellers. I have been a loyal subscriber to Audible for years, but eMusic could win me over if its audiobook selection continues to expand.
I can’t disagree on the design comments for eMusic, but I would disagree on the music — I always find plenty of stuff I want on eMusic. I’ll admit that my tastes run to the obscure, but there’s plenty there for me.