eMusic Gets UMG, Loses Indies

Major Indie Issues

On the heels of its eMUSIC's recent inclusion of UMG product, a number of independent labels have started to remove their catalog from the subscription music download service. MUSIC WEEK reports that eMUSIC subscribers received an e-mail informing them that music on indie labels such as BEGGARS GROUP, DOMINO and MERGE will no longer be available starting NOVEMBER 18th.

BEGGARS GROUP released a statement on its website, noting, "As those of you who buy our music from eMUSIC will know by now, our music will very shortly no longer be available from that site ... We wish this hadn’t happened, but as eMUSIC has brought major labels on board, they have changed the terms on which they deal with labels in certain ways, some of which we have found impossible to accept, in our own interests, those of our artists, and ultimately those of their fans ... We have loved eMusic, and the support it has given to our music, but it was the dedicated home for independent music and is, in our view, not that any more."

eMUSIC took exception to the notion that it has gone "major." "For those of you wondering if this means eMUSIC is losing its focus, rest assured, we're still the place you go to find the records that hover under the radar, records that represent clear artistic vision -- and the records that we find inspiring on both major and indie labels, regardless of how many albums were sold," it's statement read. "Let us prove it to you!"

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