I’ve been using eMusic for quite a while. Since the beginning, I’ve been on a download plan that allows 40 songs per month for $9.99. They discontinued that plan a while back, maybe in 2006, but grandfathered existing members, so I kept that rate. My credit card bill this month shows an $11.99 charge, though, so I logged in to my account to see what was up. Apparently, eMusic has raised prices. There’s a thread about it on the message board. The announcement is dated June 17, but there’s no indication that they ever sent out an email on this to let anyone know. There’s another thread on the board, started by a confused customer who didn’t see the announcement either.
I can’t get too mad about this, since those of us on the $9.99/40 track plan are now apparently on an $11.99/50 track plan, which is still pretty good, and still better than what a new user can get. (The new user $11.99 plan only includes 30 tracks per month.) I really think they should have sent out an e-mail blast on this though.
Interestingly, this is all coming up at the same time as Apple is rumored to be getting ready to roll out iTunes subscriptions, possibly for $129/year. I’d still rather have MP3’s from eMusic, assuming any iTunes subscription model would include only DRM’d music that self-destructs if you discontinue your subscription.