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September 02, 2009
Post-Sony Chart Watching at eMusicby David Harrell
Back in July -- approximately two weeks after the addition of Sony back-catalog material to the eMusic catalog -- I observed that with exception of Michael Jackson, the major-label content wasn't rocketing up the eMusic charts. At that point, however, because of the rolling refresh periods for eMusic subscribers, some of them might not have had a chance to download any of the Sony material.
As of yesterday, it's been nine weeks since the introduction of the Sony material, meaning that all monthly subscribers have the opportunity to use at least two months of their downloads on the Sony catalog. But the current top-download charts remain as smaller-label (and indie rock) focused as ever. The only Sony release showing up in the "top 15" charts for the day, past week, and past month is this Kenny Chesney collection.
The top download charts at eMusic have always been dominated by recent releases, so perhaps it's not surprising that older Sony material isn't being snatched up. And, as I noted in the previous post, absent something like the death of MJ, it's unlikely that everyone will gravitate toward the same Sony releases. That is, if individual subscribers are downloading a wide range of Sony material, specific releases aren't likely to rise the top of the charts. So it's possible that a ton of Sony material has been downloaded, but the downloads have been spread across the catalog.
Yet when offered certain classic indie releases for the first time, eMusic subscribers will push them to the top of the download charts, something they've failed to do with non-Michael Jackson Sony material. Husker Du's SST catalog was added on 8/24/09 and currently accounts for 4 of the top 15 spots in the weekly download chart. While the Husker Du releases are offered as "album-only" downloads, the fact that some of them are relative bargains -- it will cost you just 12 downloads for the 23-track Zen Arcade -- no doubt adds to their appeal. Still, the contrast with the Sony catalog is striking.
Of course, the reason eMusic added the Sony material to its catalog was to increase its appeal to future subscribers, not the current subscriber base that was content with the all-indie lineup. So the real question is, will potential subscribers be lured by a Sony catalog that costs -- as a result of the new subscription plans and the "12-download album pricing" for many releases -- $5.00 to $6.00 an album? That's a healthy discount from the $9.99 default iTunes album price, but I'm not sure if it's enough to entice fans of older Sony material to start an ongoing subscription.
related: Chart Watching at eMusic, Album Pricing at eMusic, More Thoughts on the Changes at eMusic, Sony and eMusic: Why the Per-Track Label Payout Might Not Change
tags: digital music eMusic Sony Music iTunes
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It's written as a how-to guide for those looking to become music supervisors, but I found it to be a good resource for musicians (like me) who are trying to get their music used in movies, TV, etc.