If you are into music outside of the commercial mainstream, I full-heartedly recommend the legal…read moreMP3 retailer emusic to you!
It offers more than 2 million tracks from more than 13.000 independent labels spanning a large variety of genres (I am posting a list at the end of this review).
In comparison to iTunes which had been one of my favourite digital retailers before I subscribed to emusic 2.5 years ago, emusic has four major advantages:
- emusic trusts you: You get regular MP3 files without any copy protection.
- The music quality (bitrate) is better (usually 175-227 kbit/s, as compared to iTunes' meager 128 kbit/s).
- You can download songs more than once.
- The cost per song is much lower.
Emusic currently offers the following subscription plans to European customers:
- 30 songs a month for EUR12.99/£8.99 (43 Cent/30p a song)
- 50 songs a month for EUR16.99/£11.99 (34 Cent/24p a song)
- 75 songs a month for EUR20.99/£14.99 (28 Cent/20p a song)
Major acts on emusic include:
Adele, Albert King, Angelique Kidjo, Aretha Franklin, Art Neville, Balkan Beat Box, Bernie Worrell, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Dolly Parton, Dr. John, George Clinton, Frank Zappa, Funkadelic, John Fogerty, Johnny Cash, Lee Scratch Perry, Maceo Parker, Marvin Gaye, Mavis Staples, Parliament, Paul McCartney, Public Enemy, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Black Crowes.
Many artist and album entries are accompanied by helpful reviews from allmusic.com and lists of similar artists.
Check out their trial offer: For a period of two weeks, you get 50 songs for free. During that time, you can cancel and won't be charged anything. But I won't be surprised if you stayed (as I did)!
The list of genres will give you an idea of the depth of emusic's catalogue:
Alternative/Punk (Alt/Punk Ska, Alternative, Alternative Experimental, Alternative Hard Rock, Brit Pop, Emo, Garage Rock, Goth, Hardcore, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Industrial, Live Alt/Punk, Math Rock, New Wave, Noise Rock, Post-Punk, Post-Rock, Psych Punk
Blues (Boogie Woogie, Chicago Blues, Contemporary Blues, Delta Blues, Inspirational, Louisiana Blues, New Orleans R&B, Soul/R&B, Texas Blues, Traditional Blues)
Classical (20th Century, Avant-garde, Baroque, Chamber Music, Classical, Classical Sacred, Classical Vocal, Guitar, Keyboard, Medieval/ Renaissance, Opera, Orchestral, Postmodern, Pre-Baroque, Romantic)
Country/Folk (Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, British Folk, British/Irish Folk, Cajun/ Zydeco, Compilations, Contemporary Country, Contemporary Folk, Folk Singer-Songwriter, Honky Tonk, Live Country/Folk, Native American Folk, Rockabilly, Traditional Country, Traditional Folk, Western Swing)
Electronic (2-Step/Garage, Abstract, Breaks, Compilations, Dance, DJ Mix, Downtempo, Drum 'n' Bass/ Jungle, Electroclash, Electronic 12-inches, Electronic Ambient, Electronic Dub, Electronic Experimental, Electronic Industrial, Global Groove, House, IDM, Jungle, Krautrock, Leftfield, Nu-Jazz/Broken Beat, Remix, Techno, Trance, Trip-hop, Turntablism)
Hip-Hop/R&B (Bass, Electro, Funk, Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop 12-inches, Live Urban/Hip-Hop, R&B, Rap, Soul)
World (Africa, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Caribbean, Celtic/British Isles, Central Asia, Central Europe, Cuba, Dancehall, Dub, Eastern Europe, Flamenco/ Tango, France, Greece, India, Indian Classical, Indian Film, Indonesia, Italy, Latin, Mediterranean, Mexico, Middle East, Morocco, Nordic, North America, Pacific Islands, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Rai, Roots Reggae, Salsa, Ska, South America, Spain, Western Europe, World Compilations, World Fusion)
Jazz (Acid Jazz, Avant-garde, Bebop, Big Band, Classic Jazz, Contemporary, Easy Listening, Fusion, Jazz Vocal, Jazz/Blues, Klezmer, Latin Jazz, Live Jazz, Lounge, Swing, Traditional)
New Age (Contemporary Instrumental, Healing, New Age Ambient, New Age Environmental, New Age Sacred, New Age Vocal, Relaxation, World)
Rock/Pop ('80s, British Invasion, Classic Rock, Commercial Alternative, Death Metal, Disco, Hard Rock, Jam Rock, Live Rock/Pop, Metal, Oldies, Pop, Power Pop, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Rock, Rock/Pop New Wave, Rock/Pop Rockabilly, Singer-Songwriter, Surf Rock, Vocal Pop)
Soundtracks (Children's, Comedy, Film Soundtracks, Holiday, Marching Band, Novelty, Other, Other Environmental, Radio, Sound Effects, Spoken Word, Theatre Scores, TV Soundtracks)
Spiritual (Christian, Christian Rock, Gospel, Judaica)
