Angry Robot

eMusic and the Value of Songs

A bunch of indie labels want to pull out of eMusic because the price per track is too low. eMusic’s CEO responds. Both are worth reading.

I’m an eMusic subscriber. I love it and it’s my main way of getting music, so I tend to agree with the eMusic side. My plan, which I guess is no longer available, is $20 US for 90 songs a month. If we estimate 12 songs per album, that’s under $3 an album. Keep in mind that these are non-DRMed mp3s that you get to keep. Not a bad deal.

What’s music worth? Who knows. I’d definitely pay more than $3 for an album, but at the same time labels need to realize they&#821#8217;re not competing with iTunes, they’re competing with free. In some ways it’s a miracle that a nerd like me will spend any money on music at all, let alone $240/year. I guess I’m still happy that the days of the $25 CD are over.

Update: good post on the topic at CDM, and more at hypebot plus apparently a few in-depth posts to follow tomorrow.