In Which I Am A Whore for eMusic.

For the last month or so, I’ve had an idea about doing a weekly eMusic “things I’ve downloaded and love” piece just because, hey, it’s a great service that lets me get a ton of music on the cheap and I’ve gotten a few emails telling me to write about music more often. Combine those two factors with the fact that I’ve got a terrible habit of burning through all of my monthly eMusic downloads in a day or two and we may have a way to appease all parties involved.

(An aside: If you’re not a member of eMusic you can sign up now and receive 25 free downloads. Once you’re done with those, you can quit at any time; they’re nice like that. I’ve stuck with them for almost a year now and have consistently been impressed with the selection on offer. Like the pitchman says: I don’t sell anything I wouldn’t buy myself.)

Aaaanyway, you might be asking yourself “What makes eMusic better than iTunes and why is Kevin falling all over himself to push the service? I mean, besides the fact he’s probably using an affiliate link to earn some extra bank off my interest in music?”

I’ve anticipated your askance and here’s a few very notable items that you should pay attention to:

• It’s cheaper! Instead of doing a per-download system like iTunes, eMusic charges a flat monthly fee. eMusic Basic features 30 downloads a month and costs $9.99. eMusic Plus offers 50 downloads a month at $14.99. eMusic Premium gives addicts like myself 75 downloads per month for $19.99. In other words, individual track prices range from 27 to 33 cents instead of Apple’s $.99-per-song fee.

  (If you’re thinking you won’t use all the downloads – you will. Trust me, you will.)

• No DRM. This is actually the most important thing for me, because I find it galling that record companies aligned with Apple punish me with a crippled version of a song I paid more money for. I outright refuse to purchase songs from Apple because they place everything in a proprietary format that means I can’t share music I’ve purchased. All eMusic downloads are in standard mp3 format, which means that you can burn a track to CD an unlimited number of times as well as well as share it on multiple computers and iPods. One thing I’ve noticed is that sharing unique new music creates consumers for a band and its products.

  EDIT: Since Bully asked, I should note that unlike other subscription-based services, eMusic’s files don’t suddenly expire if you stop using the service.

• Smaller labels and specialty imprints get major love. Sure, you may not be able to find the latest Jessica Simpson track on eMusic, but there’s a ton of exciting bands that are waiting for you to click “Download All.” Exploring by genre really is a fantastic experience: Explosions In The Sky, Bloc Party, Of Montreal and The Boredoms on one page, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and Sonny Rollins on another. I’m a jazz nut who’s frequently spoiled by choice on the service.
• Accidentally erase a song? You can download it again at no additional cost! Unlike the iTunes store, eMusic doesn’t punish you for having your hard drive crash.
• A smartly-tailored experience. eMusic really does have some great writers on staff helping people get the most out of their preferred genre. Michaelangelo Matos’s “The Aging Raver’s Dozen” has and pointed me to a few artists I’d only heard of, and that’s just one of the many lists created by the staff. There’s also a brand-new blog started by the service at 17Dots.com. Even if you’re not a member, it’s a better read than any commercially-minded blog has a right to be.

OK, that’s it for the sales pitch. Here’s some things for you to check out.

• Trademark, Raise The Stakes. Infectious synthpop that sounds like every record I wrote in my head when I was 17. If you liked the sound of Hugh Grant’s band PoP! in Music and Lyrics, this is a must-have addition to your collection. Fans of Boston-based bands Freezepop and Lifestyle should definitely give this a whirl.

• Tuxedomoon, Half Mute / Scream With A View. Tuxedomoon’s one of those insanely influential 80s bands that I had somehow managed to avoid actually hearing anything by until I picked up one of the International Deejay Gigolo compilations put together by DJ Hell a couple of years back. It was instant love – avant jazz and synthesizers piled on top of each other with an off-tempo groove that somehow managed to nail everything together perfectly. If you have to download just one track, make it “What Use?” – it’s pure late-night, drug-soaked madness.
• Ennio Morricone, So Sweet, So Sensual. If you’re familiar with the man’s western and epic film work, then this collection of tunes from his various romantic and comedic endeavours is certainly worth looking into. This string-laden, jazz influenced material casts a very long shadow and is perfect for inserting onto those Cocktail Party mix CDs that people ask you to make because you’re “the music guy and/or gal.”
• The Whitest Boy Alive, Dreams. As one half of Kings of Convenience and a DJ/electronic musician in his own right, Erlend Øye certainly lives up to the name of his relatively-unknown four-piece outfit. A touch of Yacht Rock meets a healthy dose of indie pop and the resulting album is extremely listenable. Dreams is the sort of album you can leave looped for three or four hours and not get sick of at all.

So, that’s it for this week. I’ll probably move this feature to Tuesday or Thursday for next week and do a lot less service-selling then.