eMusic Sales Data Supports “Long Tail” Concept

NEW YORK and LONDON, Jan. 15, 2009 -- eMusic, the world’s largest retailer of independent music and the first to sell DRM-free MP3s in Europe, today announced that approximately 75% of eMusic tracks sold at least once during 2008 based on a recent analysis of worldwide sales data. This finding supports the existence of retail’s “Long Tail” and contradicts a November 2008 study released by British licensing body MCPS-PRS. That study claimed that of the 13 million songs on the internet, ten million did not sell a single copy.

The theory that the internet enables businesses to sell a large selection of goods in small quantities to a large population of customers at minimum cost was popularized as the “Long Tail” by Chris Anderson in a Wired magazine article in 2004. eMusic, which does not sell music from the four major record labels, is a successful example of the theory. 

“eMusic is the Long Tail,” said Madeleine Milne, eMusic Managing Director, Europe. “Our customers buy music beyond the mainstream top 40 because we provide them with more context than any other major music retailer through Web 2.0 features, insightful editorial content, a passionate subscriber community and an easy-to-use and effective recommendation engine. And, we reinforce the music discovery experience with subscription pricing that encourages experimentation.”

The company also announced that its catalogue has surpassed five million tracks. In the previous year, the company has added titles from Righteous Babe, Independiente and Wall of Sound in Europe and in the U.S., Saddle Creek, Barsuk, Domino and more. In November, eMusic announced the sale of 250 million downloads since establishing its current subscription model in 2003.

Madeleine Milne will speak at MIDEM in Cannes on Tuesday, January 20 on the “Indies and the Digital Landscape” panel.

About eMusic 
eMusic (www.emusic.com) is a specialty digital entertainment retailer that has been at the forefront of offering MP3 downloads and customer-friendly prices since its inception in 1998. The company is focused on serving customers aged 25 and older by offering independent music and audio books in a universally compatible format at a great value. It is the world's largest retailer of independent music and the world's second-largest digital music service after iTunes, with more than four million tracks from 40,000 of the world's leading independent labels and thousands of titles from top audio book publishers. To super-serve its more than 400,000 customers, eMusic provides award-winning editorial content, a vibrant online community and unrivaled music discovery tools. eMusic's subscription-based service offersfree music downloads or one free audio book at sign-up, giving consumers an inexpensive, low-risk way to explore great new music and books they wouldn't find otherwise. The company's music download promotions help world-class brands reward and engage with their customers. Based in New York with an office in London, eMusic is available in the U.S., Canada and 26 E.U. nations. eMusic.com Inc. is wholly owned by Dimensional Associates, Inc., the private equity arm of JDS Capital Management, Inc. 

NOTE: eMusic is a registered trademark and eMusic.com is a trademark of eMusic.com Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Media Contacts: 
Cathy Halgas Nevins 
eMusic 
212-201-9201 or cnevins@emusic.com 

Alastair Keeble
Golin Harris
0207 067 0632 or akeeble@golinharris.com