Interesting news but it still doesn't matter given that the old eMusic subscription model was the best thing out there for avid music fans and come the 8th will be crippled like napster, audiolunchbox, etc...
New York-Based Private Equity Firm Finalizes Purchase of EMusic
The Link - EMusic Adds Revolutionary Live Music Program To Its Roster -
NEW YORK, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Dimensional Associates, LLC, the Rye, New
York-based private equity arm of JDS Capital Management, Inc., today announced
that it has finalized the purchase of EMusic (
http://www.EMusic.com), the world's
most popular MP3 music subscription service, from VU Net USA. A digital music
distribution pioneer since its foundation in 1998, EMusic was and continues to
be the first digital music service to sell songs and albums for download in
the MP3 format, and was the first company to launch a downloadable
subscription service in 2000.
EMusic is the digital music service for discerning music fans, having
paved the way for groundbreaking independent artists and labels to digitally
distribute and market their music online. Boasting more than 275,000 songs in
every genre from 900 of the world's best independent music labels, EMusic is
the premier subscription service for independent music. Flexibility and
portability are paramount at EMusic -- all tracks are in the industry standard
MP3 format and subscribers are encouraged to make multiple copies for personal
use, burn the music to CDs and transfer their music to portable MP3 players.
And, EMusic subscribers own and retain all of the tracks they download from
the site.
"All of the other music services are singing the same tune," said Steve
Grady, General Manager of EMusic. "We stand firm in our belief that the best
way to encourage the growth of legitimate online music services is to respect
customers by giving them what they want -- the flexibility that only comes
with the MP3 format. We're actively expanding EMusic with added service
offerings and supplementing our existing wide-ranging content and services
with more labels and unique new content.
Expanding on its commitment to bringing the most innovative independent
artists and the highest quality downloads to its subscribers, EMusic is
partnering with the most renowned live music venues across the US to launch
its new program, EMusic Live. The program, set to launch in the coming weeks,
will bring together an existing network of venues, previously known as the
Digital Club Network (DCN), to make electrifying live performances available
to consumers from far-flung clubs across the country, including: the
9:30 Club
in Washington, DC; The Casbah in San Diego, CA; the 40 Watt Club in Athens,
GA; The Metro in Chicago, IL, Toad's Place in New Haven, CT and Arlene Grocery
in New York, NY, to name just a few.
"We are thrilled to partner with a company that is dedicated to serving
the artists and fans of independent music," said Greg Scholl, CEO of DCN.
"The EMusic Live venues represent the best live music clubs in the
country -- clubs where some of today's biggest stars got their starts. Through
EMusic Live, we will offer the live music created every night in these rooms
to the world. This combination offers EMusic subscribers unique and
unparalleled access to their favorite artists, and a glimpse into the
cutting-edge, independent music scene across the best live music markets in
America. Working together with EMusic, we are going to change the way people
think about live music."
About EMusic
EMusic (
http://www.EMusic.com) is a music discovery service that allows fans
access to mp3 downloads. Through license agreements with more than 900 premier
independent record labels, EMusic offers an expanding collection of over
275,000 mp3s for download.
About EMusic Live
EMusic Live is the world's largest aggregator of live music performances,
digitally recording more than 30 live performances each week by new and
established artists from its exclusive nationwide network of the best clubs
and concert halls. EMusic Live delivers its shows to consumers both live and
on-demand, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
