I'm a relatively happy eMusic subscriber -- with a few minor complaints, but nothing serious. I almost see this as a sign of their current business model being

I'm a relatively happy eMusic subscriber -- with a few minor complaints, but nothing serious. I almost see this as a sign of their current business model being unsustainable. eMusic started it's life as a cheap retailer —- subscription or no -- but has had to repeatedly rejig their pricing in order to retain label catalogues. I don't think this should be interpreted purely as an attempt to get major labels involved, this has had an effect on smaller labels as well. An anecdotal example; Relapse had pulled it's catalogue purely because it wasn't making enough money from it. Planet-mu had done the same. Subsequent to the last pricing changes, lots of hold out labels have put their catalogues on eMusic -- for me, notably Warp and Kompakt. So my general feeling is that if these moves help eMusic sustain itself, then I can get behind it. However, these pricing schemes no longer look anything like a subscription; eMusic will not be the simple service that it was previously. I get a sense that a subscription now only locks you into paying a set amount each month to a retailer and removes your ability to shop around with that money. Still, the music is generally cheaper and for someone like me -- given I purchase a lot -- it's still a good deal. I watch with interest.