eMusic Adds the Stones Abkco Years

Posted by Campbell at Saturday, April 05, 2008

This is pretty major news both on the consumer front as well as the industry front. First off, this has to be eMusic's biggest score to date. They basically added the most important records from possibly the greatest rock n' roll band of all-time. "Aftermath", "Flowers", "Let It Bleed", "Between the Buttons", "Beggars Banquet" - these are unquestionably some of the greatest records ever recorded. Consumers can now legitimately buy high-quality MP3s of these masterpieces for just over $.22 per song.

And for anyone who's spent a bit of time in the music business, Abkco is historically known as one of the most conservative of the old-time labels, especially when it comes to the cherished Stones catalog. With this move, the entire industry takes another babystep towards embracing the digital age. Abkco should be applauded for choosing the consumer over the bottom line. Finally a major player does so. (eMusic may have paid a mammoth advance, but hell, the consumer still wins.)

It took $400 million billion or something for iTunes to land the Beatles catalog. To these ears, this is a much bigger win for music fans.