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Digital Audio Insider is David Harrell's blog about the economics of music and other digital content. I write from the perspective of a musican who has self-released four albums with the indie rock band the Layaways.
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May 05, 2008
No More Stonesby David Harrell
It was fun while it lasted, but eMusic yanked the Rolling Stones (and other ABKCO releases) from its catalog. (Thanks to ConceptJunkie for info!).
From the message board post by an eMusic employee:
Before posting the ABKCO catalogue on eMusic at the beginning of April, we pursued every level of due diligence possible. We triple- and quadruple-checked with every possible party at both ABKCO and Universal Music Group, which distributes the label, and the word was unanimous: let's do this. Green-lit, we proceeded to do what we do best: we got the best writers in the world to put it in context, and we presented the catalogue to you with an impressive amount of musical and historical background. ABKCO and UMG were both incredibly impressed by both the treatment and the sales: the catalogue (even stuff beyond the Stones) generated a huge number of downloads.As I've written before, the effective per-song payout rate from eMusic varies, based on the total number of downloads by subscribers each quarter. But the most recent payouts I've seen for my own band are approximately 33 cents per track, a little less than half of the standard iTunes payout of 70 cents per track.
But this was not enough. Due to events outside of our control, we are being forced to remove the entire ABKCO catalogue from eMusic effective tomorrow morning. We hope to get them back at some point, but for now, we have no choice.
Yet given the popularity of the Stones catalog with eMusic subscribers, it seems likely that eMusic downloads were generating a significant revenue stream, one that didn't exist before the addition of the tracks to eMusic.
Perhaps the unknown party who nixed the deal feared that the eMusic downloads were cannibalizing higher-margin downloads from iTunes and Amazon MP3. But even if they were, the revenue loss would probably be more than offset by downloads by eMusic subscribers who previously had no interest in paying for Stones downloads. (Count me among them -- I nabbed "Child of the Moon," "I'm Free," "We Love You" and some other obscure singles and B-sides that I didn't own on CD, and never felt inclined to purchase at 99 cents a track...)
related: Like the Beatles in '64, Increased Per-Song Payouts from eMusic, More On eMusic Payouts
tags: digital music eMusic The Rolling Stones
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Popular Posts
A Long Tail Experiment
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The Digital Pricing Conundrum series:
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four
THE LAYAWAYS
Out Now -- "Maybe Next Year" -- The New Holiday Album:
"This is a sweet treat, deliciously musical without being overbaked for mass media consumption." -- Hyperbolium
"Perfect listening to accompany whatever holiday preparations you may be making today." -- Bag of Songs
O Christmas Tree - free mp3 lyrics and song details
Away In A Manger - free mp3
Download from eMusic, iTunes, Amazon MP3, or Bandcamp. Listen to free streams at Last.fm.
"...about as melodic and hooky as indie pop can get." -- Absolute Powerpop
"Their laid-back, '60s era sounds are absolutely delightening." -- 3hive
"...melodic, garage-influenced shoegaze." -- RCRD LBL
Where The Conversation Ends - free mp3
January - free mp3
Keep It To Yourself - free mp3
Download from eMusic, iTunes, Amazon MP3, or CD Baby, stream it at Last.fm or Napster.
"The Layaways make fine indie pop. Hushed vocals interweave with understated buzzing guitars. The whole LP is a revelation from the start." -- Lost Music
"Catchy Guided by Voices-like rockers who lay it on sweetly and sincerely, just like Lionel Richie." -- WRUV Radio
Silence - free mp3 lyrics and song details
The Long Night - free mp3
Download from eMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes, stream it at Last.fm, Napster, or Rhapsody.
"These are songs that you want to take home with you, curl up with, hold them close -- and pray that they are still with you when you wake up." -- The Big Takeover
Let Me In - free mp3
Ocean Blue - free mp3
Download from eMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes, stream it at Last.fm, Napster, or Rhapsody.
More Layaways downloads:
the layaways website