August 30, 2006

Advantage members can submit CDs for sound clips. It takes an average of four weeks to get the tracks digitized and posted to a CD detail page. Every CD must be submitted in a jewel case with a printed UPC, a barcode for scanning, or both, as well as a complete and accurate track listing.

The CD cannot be sealed, have any plastic or shrink wrap packaging--it must be opened or we will not process it. Please send one (1) copy of each Advantage album to:

Amazon.com Advantage / Sound Clips
701 5TH AVE
SEATTLE, WA 98104

CDs submitted for sound clips cannot be returned.

August 28, 2006

"Are we going to get to a point in our culture where people have a hard time listening to a two-and-a-half minute pop song without channel surfing? I see people do this on their iPods all the time -- they'll listen to songs only through the first chorus and then they'll switch to another song, they'll jump around. And I wonder if we're going to get to the point where it's unreasonable to ask [for] somebody's attention for three minutes..."

Mark McAfee, owner of Barr Mansion, a reception hall in Austin, Texas, says about 20 weddings have used iPods at his venue in the past few years. Mr. McAfee says he's not surprised by the iPod wedding trend. Before the digital music player, couples burned their own CDs and played them on speakers, he says. "They don't talk to us about music selection so much," he says. "They just ask us if it can be hooked in or not."

Some wedding professionals think iPods are in poor taste. Claudia Hanlin, a partner at the Wedding Library, a wedding planning firm in New York, says couples should restrict iPods to rehearsal dinners or after-parties. iPod music at receptions may be off-putting. "The whole feeling is much less professional," she says.

Allison Emmerson, a 24-year-old graduate student at the University of Cincinnati, got married in July 2005 to Nate Emmerson, a 23-year-old paralegal. The couple's friends tried to talk them out of going the iPod route because they felt it would ruin the reception.

It didn't. Ms. Emmerson says guests hit the dance floor to the tunes that emanated from the iPod -- which included David Bowie and the White Stripes. "Playing music is not brain surgery," she says. "If you have good music and you have a fun atmosphere, you're going to have people dancing."

August 25, 2006

August 24, 2006

48.5% of sales at an offline retail environment are generated by the top 100 artists. That goes down to 28% on P2P. For Rhapsody, it's 24%. Everybody becomes a music geek when they can explore.

August 23, 2006

"They're going to force you to going online now; it's like forcing you to ride the subway," said Ernest Feaster, 50, who lives in Northeast Washington and yesterday shopped at Tower for albums by Luther Vandross, Weather Report and the Dramatics. "It's the last of an icon around here," Feaster said. "At Circuit City and Best Buy, they're just throwing whatever up on the shelves. Here the selection is wide."

August 22, 2006

...the company has enjoyed a less than ideal relationship with larger store chains. During a time when Apple's iPods and computers are enjoying unparalleled popularity, these stores continue to aggressively push alternatives -- and seek out other partners.

Consider Sandisk. Even if you're a fan of the iPod, you have to wonder how a company without any audio background or reputation in the MP3 business could quickly come to have even decent market share, let alone a number two position ahead of Creative, Sony, and other better-known companies in the United States. The answer is simple: Sandisk has been backed by prominent American bricks and mortar retailers, receiving shelf space and impressive placement in weekly newspaper circulars, amongst other perks. In print and online, massive electronics retailer Best Buy finds a way to put Sandisk's Sansas in as many photos as possible, next to and sometimes instead of iPods.

Is media consumption entirely market driven, "it's worth what someone will pay for it" or is "what someone will pay for it" somewhat infected by their a priori notions of what it is "objectively" worth...

I could foresee spending some of my attention watching a skateboarding dog on YouTube...

But damned if I'd ever consciously reach into my wallet and pay for a skateboarding dog video...

August 21, 2006

August 18, 2006

August 15, 2006

Instead of £10.57 per month I'll now pay £12.78, which is a discount rate eMusic are giving to those who were subscribers before the switch. They say it's the same rate as before but with 17.5 per cent VAT added. I'm told I can keep this rate as long as I keep my subscription "active and in good standing." What does 'good standing' mean?

New UK subscribers will pay £14.99 per month and new European subscribers will pay £20.99 (£14.12). The Swindleeeee!!!!! blog has a full breakdown of price increases.

Still I don't mind the price increase. Thirteen quid for 90 tracks is still phenomenally good value and as long as eMusic doesn't bring in DRM I'll remain a customer.

August 14, 2006

Prices for all Basic plans were increased 46% in the UK and 42% in the rest of Europe.

Prices for all Plus plans were increased 30% in the UK and 24% in the rest of Europe.

Prices for all Premium plans were increased 22% in the UK and 15% in the rest of Europe.

Booster pack prices increased from 42% to 62% depending on region and the type of booster back. As with the subscription plans, the highest increases occurred with the lowest-priced packs.

The costs of selling music in Europe are higher than in the US, and by launching European sites, we must adhere to national and international laws requiring VAT collection and compensate the various labels, publishers, and artists under the terms they require. As a result of this reality, we were required to make various price adjustments.

I don't see a possible reason behind this. Emusic is an online site, not a brick and mortar shop, what possible need could they have for a European base? The problems before were to do with labels, not the location of the company, surely deals with UK labels could still be sorted out from the US?

I now see pricing in pounds rather than US dollars, and the prices have gone up across the board. With a 10 track booster now costing £4.99 prices are creeping up towards the current itunes level of 79 pence per track.

The prices have in fact gone up. Till now a track cost me about 23-25 Eurocent (based on the 40-track-subscription and taking the Euro-Dollar exchange rate into account). From now on a track (new subscription) will cost about 32 Eurocent (which ist considerably more than just VAT added).

August 11, 2006

"Clem, we want you to play a drum solo on this one."

"No problem, just tell me when it should start."

"Uh, actually we want you to play a drum solo for the ENTIRE SONG."

August 10, 2006

August 07, 2006

P.S. TOWER RECORDS UPDATE: Due to their financial situation, we have discontinued our relationship with Tower Records. Read the news here: http://news.google.com/news?q=tower+records If you have links to tower.com website, you should remove them, because they are not selling any CD Baby CDs anymore. We will take the responsibility of making sure you get paid for sales that already happened, but there will be no more sales through tower.com in the future.

August 03, 2006

So what's the rub? In la la land, every CD is treated the same. All of those unwanted copies of the first Hootie and the Blowfish record are, in the eyes of la la, absolutely equal to London Calling, Innervisions, or Revolver. I suppose the theory is that one person's junk is someone else's treasure and, with enough members trading, variances in musical taste will be enough to keep things moving along. But that might be wishful thinking -- when I entered 200 discs into my la la account, I wasn't that surprised at which 72 were flagged as requested. Someone out there wants your Nick Drake discs, no one's asking for that crappy third Oasis album.

August 01, 2006

iTunes UK       $0.770        
iTunes Europe       $0.742        
iTunes Australia       $0.667        
iTunes Canada       $0.645        
iTunes US       $0.637