I realize that my previous Emusic post may have been a bit short sighted because I was only coming from a consumer’s point of view. So I also wanted to delve into how the changes at Emusic might affect indie bands/labels that I love, support and even work with at times. Needless to say, I think it’s a lose/lose for indie supporters. I will be very interested to see if indie labels will make more per download under the new price structure. I would venture to guess not. The price increase and slashing of downloads was obviously made to facilitate Sony’s arrival on Emusic. I do hope that indie labels/bands will make more starting in July because I fear the quantity of their downloads is about to drop do to Emusic’s downsizing of plans or subscribers canceling their accounts.

Take me for example. My current plan is $14.99 for 50 downloads. To keep my current download status of 50 I would have to pay close to $6 more per month starting in July. That’s a 40% price increase. Or I can keep my current price but lose 13 downloads. If I choose to do that, that’s one entire album (at least) that I won’t get to download. That is twelve albums in a year. Multiply that by a ton more Emusic subscribers and you can see how much downloads will actually decrease. In comparison, my cut of 13 monthly downloads was rather small. I’ve seen people who will have to take 100% monthly download cuts in their plans to stay at their current price points. And like a lot of subscribers, I usually used my last remaining downloads to take a chance on a band/album. That luxury will surely end for many come July 1st.

So, what about the new customers that Emusic will attract with the Sony back catalog? Does anyone honestly think these music buyers will pay attention to indie music as much as Emusic’s current subscribers already do? I mean, I sure hope they do. Perhaps they will stumble upon a great independent release as they download Kings of Leon. That would certainly still be a wonderful thing. I Just worry that it’s not going to happen as often as it already does within the existing model. Emusic’s devotion to push indie bands into the spotlight was gratifying to see and was a big factor in what initially attracted me and many others to the download site. But all of the upcoming changes seems to show Emusic slowly turning their back on the community that made them who they are.

Note: Some indie bands/labels might counter that the changes will be negligible because Emusic already pays labels significantly less than big boys like Itunes and Amazon. I guess that can be the next topic for debate.