eMusic serves as a haven for music enthusiasts. It offers more than 13 million tracks coming from both major and independent labels. It focuses on helping you explore and build your music collection not just by providing recommendations but also by radio programming, artist interviews, and album reviews.
eMusic Offers Membership Plans for Everyone’s Music Needs
Each plan is flexible for everyone from laid-back music lover to absolute music connoisseur. It allows you to download high quality songs which can be played on mobile devices.
Membership plans range from $11.99 to $133.99. Songs are priced at $0.49 each and audiobook subscriptions are priced at $9.99 for 1 audiobook per month, and $19.99 for 2 audiobooks per month.
Most membership plans refresh every 30 days. The plans are also upgradable and most plans can also be put on hold or cancelled whenever you want. You are only required to commit until the end of your billing period. Booster packs are also available whenever you want to purchase more music but your balance is running low.
eMusic discovers music for you
Before, eMusic only offer music from independent labels. Recently, eMusic started to tie up with major labels.
Browsing music is made more interesting through e-Music’s Crib Sheet, Radio, and Charts. The Crib Sheet is a weekly updated list of noteworthy records handpicked by eMusic’s editors. You can explore other members’ music preferences and share your own as well.
Carry your music everywhere
All downloaded high quality MP3s can be accessed anytime and anywhere through your music players. All purchased songs are yours to keep. You don’t have to worry about restrictions since all downloads are DRM-free.
eMusic Download Manager
It is a free eMusic download application with an auto-sync feature with Windows Media Player, WinAmp, and iTunes. It is compatible with Windows and Mac. Sound quality ranges from bitrates 128 kbps to 256 kbps with variable-bit-rate (VBR) compression.
More Savings
A la carte prices are lower than iTunes by 20-50%.
eMusic Radio and Sample Player
A member is entitled to 10 hours of eMusic radio streaming for every 30 day cycle. The player is supported by Adobe Flash which is not available in iPhone/iPod/iPad.
Availability
Most of the information and services are restricted to eMusic members. However, not everyone can register since eMusic is only limited to United States, Canada, member states of the European Union, Norway and Switzerland.
PROS
- Extensive music collection from both major and independent labels
- Compatible with mobile devices
- More savings
- downloads are DRM-free
- Most of the membership plans can be put on hold or cancelled anytime
- Booster packs
- Free Trial: 7 days music, 14 days audiobooks
CONS
- Services including the Free Trial are not available to other countries
- Radio player only compatible with Adobe Flash
Conclusion
eMusic is basically a hub for discovering, enriching, and sharing music online. eMusic maximizes subscribers capability to explore music from both major and independent labels and gain access to them anytime. You own whatever you have downloaded since the music is DRM-free. You can enjoy 20-50% savings compared to iTunes. Membership plans are upgradable and can be easily postponed or stopped. Weaknesses include eMusic Radio’s Adobe Flash dependency and the limitation of service availability to other countries.
Did you find this article useful? Do you have any eMusic experiences to share? Post your questions, comments, and suggestions below.
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