By Linda Kim
With the recent losses in court by Napster, one must wonder about
the
alternatives available on the web for obtaining mp3 music files. One
such
alternative is through EMusic.com, which is the internet's only mp3
subscription service.
EMusic.com provides downloadable mp3 files in a wide variety of genres
for a
fee charged to a credit card with receipts sent via email. EMusic
Unlimited
subscribers have unlimited access for $9.99 a month. Nonsubscribers
can
download single songs for 99 cents and $1.29 for songs longer than
seven
minutes. Entire albums are usually $8.99. EMusic splits profits from
their
sales with the artists 50/50. All who want to purchase mp3s must create
an
EMusic account. Users with accounts can not only purchase music but
also
receive announcements, join mailing lists, participate in bulletin
boards and
contests, and join in on other features of the Emusic.com community.
EMusic
also features free downloads and free demo tracks for all internet
users.
The site is easy to use and simply browse through by artist, label,
or genre.
It provides internet customers with not only mp3 files to buy but
also
information about listening to digital music. The site has a list
of general,
basic questions and answers about downloading and listening to music
from a
computer, troubleshooting, and information about copyrights and issues
related
to using their site. Customer services are also availabe via email.
EMusic.com is not as convenient and simple like Napster, especially
considering it charges its customers for mp3s. The songs and albums
available
on EMusic do not include the big figures of contemporary music either,
i.e.
the current big stars like NSync or Faith Hill or Mya. However, obtaining
music files from EMusic is legal and contributes to the financial
support of
the artists who make their music available on the web. And it is still
cheaper
than purchasing CDs from music stores or even online stores like Amazon.com.