Ian (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lovingboth) wrote2003-10-17 09:32 pm
lovingboth) wrote2003-10-17 09:32 pm
(no subject)
For the past few months, I've been a happy member of emusic.com, a legitimate music download site.
No limits on downloads (beyond not being able to queue more than three albums at a time), standard mp3 files (nearly all high quality VBR, the rest are 128k ones), a wide choice (something like 200,000 tracks from punk to opera), all for a reasonable monthly fee ($10 or $15, depending on how long you commit to being a member) which is shared with the people whose work you download.
I haven't gone crazy with downloading, I have discovered several new artists whose work I like, Alpinestars is one example. I haven't stuck the files on a p2p service. I have been able to get some obscure older works from people I already liked.
Now a new owner has decided to install limits. 40 downloads for $10/month or 65 for $15.
Well, ok. I don't download more than 40 albums a month. On average, it's less than 20.
But do they mean albums... or tracks?
It's not clear on the message on the site or the email they sent to subscribers.
So I asked. And they've just replied:
I've two words for that: "commercial" and "suicide".
If it had been 40 albums, I'd have stayed.
But when a single album - Alan Howarth sound effects, for example - can almost take you over the monthly limit by itself... forget it.
No limits on downloads (beyond not being able to queue more than three albums at a time), standard mp3 files (nearly all high quality VBR, the rest are 128k ones), a wide choice (something like 200,000 tracks from punk to opera), all for a reasonable monthly fee ($10 or $15, depending on how long you commit to being a member) which is shared with the people whose work you download.
I haven't gone crazy with downloading, I have discovered several new artists whose work I like, Alpinestars is one example. I haven't stuck the files on a p2p service. I have been able to get some obscure older works from people I already liked.
Now a new owner has decided to install limits. 40 downloads for $10/month or 65 for $15.
Well, ok. I don't download more than 40 albums a month. On average, it's less than 20.
But do they mean albums... or tracks?
It's not clear on the message on the site or the email they sent to subscribers.
So I asked. And they've just replied:
"The new policy refers to the number of tracks, not the number of albums."
I've two words for that: "commercial" and "suicide".
If it had been 40 albums, I'd have stayed.
But when a single album - Alan Howarth sound effects, for example - can almost take you over the monthly limit by itself... forget it.