eMusic has not added any net subscribers since late-2007, according to numbers disclosed to Digital Music News this morning. Company representative Cathy Halgas Nevins pointed to a subscriber tally of “approximately 400,000," which is exactly the same number shared by the company in December of 2007. “We have held our base since the economy went south," Halgas-Nevins relayed. “We have a new strategy in place for growth..."
That strategy has included the addition of lots of mainstream, major label content, a shift that seems to be alienating longtime users. Fittingly, eMusic boards are often venting grounds for unhappy subscribers—most of whom joined the service to access curated indie content, not the latest Coldplay and Train tunes.
So, has eMusic completely jumped the shark, or can this truly be blamed on the economy? Perhaps more time is needed to properly answer that question, though eMusic could offer some powerful lessons about the need to preserve niche.
That strategy has included the addition of lots of mainstream, major label content, a shift that seems to be alienating longtime users. Fittingly, eMusic boards are often venting grounds for unhappy subscribers—most of whom joined the service to access curated indie content, not the latest Coldplay and Train tunes.
So, has eMusic completely jumped the shark, or can this truly be blamed on the economy? Perhaps more time is needed to properly answer that question, though eMusic could offer some powerful lessons about the need to preserve niche.
