eMusic redesign still doesn't fix the main problem

eMusic users awoke Friday to a redesign of the subscription-based download site, which specializes in music from independent artists. The main feature is a recommendation engine provided by MediaUnbound, which uses a combination of computer algorithms and real live music fans to duplicate the services of that one friend of yours who always seems to know about the new bands first. MediaUnbound CEO Michael Papish had this funny exchange with TechCrunch in which he explained why his company's technology is better than Pandora and other recommendation engines, although the TechCrunch reviewer remained unconvinced.

I never get past this step.

It sounds intriguing, and I'm sure that eMusic's 400,000-plus users will enjoy playing with it. But every time I think to check the service out, I'm stymied by its sign-up process. The front page is useless, offering almost no insight into what eMusic offers. It's very hard to browse or search to see what songs are on the service, much less sample them--the only way I could get to the store was by clicking on the "Audiobooks" link at the bottom of the page, then selecting the "Browse" tab. You can't test the new recommendation engine. This page listing reasons to join just doesn't do the trick. Neither does this page listing a handful of free samples, seemingly chosen at random.

This aggressive approach to getting sign-ups may have been OK when free music was hard to come by and when iTunes and other music stores trafficked only in DRM-encrusted files. But with sites like Imeem offering free streaming of entire songs, and Amazon.com letting you search among millions of MP3 tracks from major labels as well as indies, the redirects to the sign-up screen are a real turn-off. I don't understand why eMusic doesn't just make the sample version of the store the front page, then guide users to the sign-up page when they try to download something--just like Amazon or any other Web-based music store.

[tekwiz4u]

The approach, "Enter your credit card info, and we'll show you the goods..." doesn't work anymore. eMusic will have to redesign the website to allow customers to BROWSE music, and stop shoving a tin cup in front of our faces.

FAIL!

[jjasper88]

Actually, you can browse without logging in. Go to http://www.emusic.com/browse/all.html . The "Join NOW" main page is an annoyance, but they lean heavily towards getting people to sign up as fast as they can.

[tm_anon]

Why not have a two part page? One side streams the music so you can listen to the song before you buy it, sort of a Last.fm modeled page, letting you search through the music and listen, then have the other part of the page set for if you'd like to buy that particular piece of music. Allow for non members of the site to buy for one price with a cheaper price per song for members. That way, non members see the reason to become members without being forced into it and the site makes more money than before. Then you empty the site of the rest of the crap pages and just put in pages related to your content. I'm much more likely to buy something if I can listen to it first, it's the reason why music stores have listening stations.

[Tergon]

Becasue eMusic is a bundle downloads site. There are no indviudal prices for songs (i.e. I get 50 downloads for 11.99 and this has kept me in MUCH music for over 5 years)

[Tergon]

"You can't test the new recommendation engine"

That's because the Recommendation engine is tied to your personal account: what you've downloaded, what you've rated, where you've been.
From 17Dots Article
"1) Music You?ll Love ? These are the recommendations from MediaUnbound based on your history here at eMusic. These are only going to get better and better over time; they are based on your download history, your ratings, all of your on-site activity. So the more you participate, the stronger these should be! (And please note that some of the data matching is still being processed, so your recommendations will be weighted towards newer releases at first; within a few days it will reflect relevant recommendations across our entire catalog.)"

eMusic is the FOREFRONT of independent music and will often introduce people to music they've heard in advertisements (Cat Powers) and on Public Radio Stations. They are also the driving force behind DRM-Free music which other companies, who do carry Popular Music (amazon, Wal-mart, Napster), are now following the lead of. Without it these companies would still be limiting your Downloads to one or two devices and there would be no Subscription services (i.e Zune's 14.99 "unlimited downloads")

[daveturnley]

So then at least let me mess around with the recommendation engine to see if it's worth the money. I'll plug in 20 of my favorite artists 10 of my least favorite artists and see what it recommends. (If I list Coldplay as a favorite and Radiohead as a not-favorite I'll probably get Keane as a recommendation. After I clean up the vomit, I'll switch my ratings and get Sigur Ros.)

[chad.armstrong]

tekwiz4u - totally agreed. ***

[jjasper88]

Your problem is that you're thinking of it as a "Store", where you buy individual items. It's not a "store". It's subscription service. If it were a store, you'd be paying the usual $0.99/song, rather than a much lower rate.

It's sort of sad that you didn't explain the difference between the models, because it dilutes your valid criticism of the eMusic front page. Comparisons to iMeem are likewise empty. iMeem is an ad supported streaming service for listening. It's not somewhere where you buy music. I use iMeem, but I'm not buying that music. It's not going on my computer. It's only available if I'm online.

If you're buying indie music online, eMusic's model is a good one, because it's still cheaper than Amazon.