Backlash over eMusic major label deal

Most subscribers facing 50% price hike

2 June 2009 10:47 GMT / By Duncan Geere

In a not entirely unexpected development, eMusic subscribers have erupted in anger at the announcement of the deal with Sony, previously reported on Pocket-lint, that'll allow major label content on to the service.

The deal has unfortunately meant a price rise for existing users, most of which will face a 50% hike. Some users on older packages may even end up paying double.

Comments from users include:
- "Sorry, not worth it for the selection"
- "It seems eMusic is enraptured with the dazzle of their future customer-trolls and have cast aside their loyal member base"
- "I'm not particularly interested in giving my cash to the major labels, that's why I come here"
- "I appreciate that you’ll be adding a lot of music from major labels that I could frankly not give a crap about (Alicia Keys — really?), but literally halving the amount of tracks I get on my current plan is a bit much to take"

eMusic hasn't responded yet, however it'll be interesting to see if they stick to their guns and hope the influx of Alicia Keys fans is enough to sustain them or cave to their existing userbase and offer a complex, two-tiered approach. Neither is really an ideal situation.

Either way, we'll keep you posted.

Via: hypebot.com

Full tags

Audio, Music downloads, eMusic, Sony Music