21 Dec 06 eMusic: Ever heard of it?

I can say I hadn’t really heard of eMusic till earlier today I saw a post that referenced it as the 2nd largest online music store next to iTunes. Really? 2nd? Why haven’t I heard of it before?

Well I went to check their site, and here’s the thing…THEY GIVE YOU DRM FREE MP3′S! You can play them on any device you want! Any Zune, iPod, Creative, or any other device that plays mp3’s. How do I sign up?

Well it gets even better. Just for signing up you get 25 free songs. They have over 2 million to choose from.

So how do they make money? The charge $9.99/month and you get 30 tracks of DRM free mp3’s. You can do whatever you want with these tracks.
Other plans include 50 tracks for $14.99/month and 75 tracks for $19.99/month. That is 27 to 33 cents per track!

This is MUCH cheaper then iTunes, and since AllofMp3 doesn’t take Visa/Mastercard, are getting sued by the recording industry, and a trade agreement between US and Russia to not allow the site in the US, it seems like the 2nd best option.

Where is the downside? Well if you can’t find 30 tracks per month to download, then you are losing out. Right now with my Zune, I am using the Zune Marketplace subscription service, but if/once I stop paying $14.95/month the music is gone. With this service, you keep the music and put it on any device you want.

Even if you don’t pay for the service, the initial 25 free tracks makes it worth it to sign up with their 14 day free trial.
There is rumor that Amazon is about to launch a similar service where you can get totally DRM free mp3’s. No word on price or if it will happen, but rumor is that it will be more expensive then eMusic.
Check it out today