MacDailyNews - Where Mac news comes first

Mar 27, 08 - 10:49 am Comment from: eMax

iAM there for iPhone, iPod, iSync, iMac, iWork, iSight,

Mar 27, 08 - 10:49 am Comment from: Brian Allen

He He

Mar 27, 08 - 10:50 am Comment from: Bluefin

I think yesterday's comment here at MDN pretty much sum it up...

Amazon: cite some independent sources... not vested interests.

Sure boys...fight over the scaps!

It's like the Nazis saying they came in 2nd place in WWII!

that's why I buy from iTunes or Junodownload.com, every song I could want between them, no hassles or hidden agendas.
Oh yeah, ALL DRM FREE since day one at Junodownload.com



MDN word: 'asked'
"shoulda asked me, I woulda told you the real deal!"

Pakman backs up MDN with the lack of fact finding on this one.
No surprise there.

However the Nazis were on top for quite a period of time

As usual, the sensible commentary on all this comes from RDM:

http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/03/27/is-number-two-amazon-rivaling-itunes-in-music-sales-haha-no/

They're number two alright.

Mar 27, 08 - 11:04 am Comment from: DRM sucks

"In fact, the article states that Amazon “won’t say how many songs Amazon has sold but will say that consumers love the experience.”

That's funny, because Microsoft won't say how many songs Zune Marketplace has sold, but will say that consumers hate the experience.

"USA Today called representatives of the four major labels"

All of a sudden, I feel like we are in Tibet and our news is being reported by the Chinese government.

Record labels = Chinese Government..............

Mar 27, 08 - 11:17 am Comment from: Winston

This topic cries out for a snarky retro gaming image of Pakman as Pacman being chased by the four ghosts: Universal ("Inky"), Warner ("Blinky"), Sony ("Pinky"), and EMI ("Clyde"). And you get bonus points if you eat the Apple! C'mon, gizmodo/engadget/Daniel Eran, get on it.

Funny, after reading what the emusic CEO had to say, I took a look at their website and was pretty impressed. It looks like emusic has a pretty good (cheap) program. $10/mo for 30 DRM-free songs is pretty nice. Focusing on indie music is right up my alley, as well, because there is very little music coming from the majors that I find interesting.

Anyone use emusic who can comment on if it's everything it appears to be?

Mar 27, 08 - 11:32 am Comment from: IEEE1394®

Bee-U-Tee-Full! I hope to Fsck that USA Today has to print a retraction (on the same level page as the story first appeared) and also must supply this EXACT same retraction to the wires.

Fscking Fscktards.

Mar 27, 08 - 11:33 am Comment from: Scandalous

WE'RE NUMBER TWO... WE'RE NUMBER TWO... EVERYYBODY... WE'RE NUMBER TWO...

Zunior.com also sells songs in 192 or, get this, even in FLAC for the purists out there.

Mar 27, 08 - 11:35 am Comment from: Long duc Dong

Be right back. I gotta go number 2.

Mar 27, 08 - 11:45 am Comment from: wannabe

I'm not surprised that USA Today isn't very concerned with facts or reliable sources, as the typical USA Today reader doesn't understand anything beyond the headlines anyway. I don't know why they bother with the 2 or 3 content-free paragraphs that accompany each headline, other than to make their publication look sort of like a newspaper.

funny, never even heard of emusic...

Mar 27, 08 - 11:53 am Comment from: Famous Grouse

@Sherm

Germany surrendered first. Doesn't this put them in third place behind Japan?

Mar 27, 08 - 12:05 pm Comment from: effwerd

I could see why the music industry hates Apple. They put a song in one of their goddam ads, for fscks sake, and it shoots up the charts. That must really suck for the music industry. "Apple sells music, whaa!!! We hate that!"

Mar 27, 08 - 12:21 pm Comment from: MrScrith

@Alex

It's a good deal if you are really into the independent music, I was a subscriber for a while and like it for the most part. You get DRM free MP3 files and it works well on Mac's.

The only caveat is the monthly downloading, whatever plan you sign up for (30 per month or whatever) you need to download that 30 in that month or you loose it, there is no roll-over. The real bear is getting several full albums, then grabbing only part of an album or a couple singles to fill out the remainder of the plan before you loose it.

If you feel you can keep up with it, go for it and enjoy!

"Anyone use emusic who can comment on if it's everything it appears to be?"

I've been had a subscription for a couple of years now. It's very good as long as their catalog has what you like. If you only are interested in mainstream music it's probably not the best option unless you're interested in expanding your horizons a bit. They have a lot of good old blues, jazz, classical. I'm not into indy rock but many seem to find what they like through eMusic. I've learned about several really good artists through their site that I had never even hear of before. Good stuff. Everything is ~192kb VBR mp3s unless otherwise noted. I refuse to purchase DRM restricted music (sorry Apple). If they have what you like, the price per track is excellent.

Mar 27, 08 - 12:26 pm Comment from: iDon't

Music is from the devil. Stop listening to it and be saved.

I'd say saying the Nazis came in second would be wrong seeing as parts of eastern Germany wer carved up between Poland and Russia. I'd say the this is how they finished : US, Russia, Chinese Communists, France, UK (They lost more colonies then the French did), Italy, Japan, and Germany. I have Italy ahead of the other two because they got smart and switched sides, got to keep whole homeland. Japan lost its Pacific colonies and parts of northern Japan. Germany lost East Prussia and almost all of Western Prussia, plus got split into two by the allies. I'd say Germany got the worst of it, they finished last.

Oh yeah, bogus reporting by the USA Today 'Newspaper'.

Mar 27, 08 - 01:05 pm Comment from: Anonymous©

eMusic is very good for what it is, an inexpensive outlet for indie music. They are a deserving #2.

For independent music, I prefer Amiestreet.com. Pricing is based on popularity, and songs start free. I've found several very good bands this way.

Mar 27, 08 - 02:19 pm Comment from: HotinPlaya

I like Pakman's spirit!

Mar 27, 08 - 03:33 pm Comment from: MCCFR

Famous grouse…

Not wishing to be a pedant, but I think you'll find that Italy surrendered first followed by Germany and then Japan.

Mar 27, 08 - 03:46 pm Comment from: DogGone

eMusic = 200M since 2003
iTunes = 4-5B since around the same time.

Big difference

Mar 27, 08 - 03:48 pm Comment from: 84 Mac Guy

I love it when someone with facts actually calls bullshit on the media. Maybe if the "news" media actually got off their asses and did some investigation, research, and real reporting the public might learn something other than what the corporate world wants us to know. But then again, calling USA Today part of the "news" media is probably being way too generous.

Mar 27, 08 - 03:53 pm Comment from: Hm...

"Shocked! I am shocked that" USA Today is really a tabloid that belongs in the supermarket check-out lane. Has anyone seen my copy of today's birdcage liner, er, issue?

I tried eMusic for classical, and although they have some, their selection is quite limited and not that great in terms of quality. I also looked at some other genres, and was not too impressed. After one or two months, I couldn't find anything else that I wanted to buy. iTunes is much better.

The reason that eMusic has done so well and maintained a significant lead of 2X to 3X the market share over its nearest competitors (other than iTMS) is simple: eMusic support the iPod. eMusic has sold MP3 files without DRM since their inception many years ago, and have done so with an easy to use interface that makes it simple to discover new music. Mr. Pakman should be commended for the eMusic service, especially in the Mac community.

and in that same time period iTunes has sold a mere 1.... b-billion.

"Journalism" is a myth... they're just lousy bloggers with effective ad sales guys. I mean I'm sure amazon is #2 to the LABEL (who else COULD be?).... and as much as I hate the labels, it's not THEIR job to point out that independent music exists and emusic sells a lot of it.

Meanwhile having shot themselves in the foot with the amazon thing (Apple sends us 1.5 billion dollars a year, so definitely let's hurt them), they insist on emptying all six chambers.

Apple had the right idea with iTunes Plus--no DRM, higher quality, and yes, a little more money. And why not better-than-CD quality?

Generally the solution to a business/revenue problem is to look for ways to create more value for your customers--not leave them in the crossfire as you go to war with your largest distributor.

I have been an emusic subscriber since Sept 2005. It is an excellent and cheaper DRM free alternative to iTunes, especially, for non-major label artists such as including Flogging Molly, Moldy Peaches, Mike Doughty, Barenaked Ladies, Kristin Hersh, Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Cake, Cery Matthews, Dropkick Murphys, Cracker, Johnny Cash, Gogol Bordello, Meg & Dia, Shout Out Louds, Sleater Kinney and many more. If you are listening to music, there is probably something that appeals to you. Try the service by taking advantage of FREE trial.