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eMusic, the indie-focused, MP3-format-selling online music service touted its 100th million download mark today, roughly three years after the service launched. Of course, compared to the 1 billion tracks sold in about the same time by iTunes, you get the perspective on scale. EMusic, a unit of NYC-based Dimensional Associates, offers downloads through a subscription plan. The company said the service has more than 220,000 subscribers.
eMusic’s big differentiating factor is selling DRM-free MP3 files for the music, but that could change as other players like Yahoo Music and others experiment with MP3 formats. I have also heard some rumblings about the site/serving being for sale, though nothing concrete has emerged as of yet. Dimensional Associates, the parent, is the Rye, New York-based private equity arm of JDS Capital Management. Its portfolio companies include eMusic, The Orchard and eMusicLive (formerly Digital Club Network).
There is also the fact, beyond the lack of DRM, that the pricing in eMusic translates to about 25-35 cents per song, vs iTunes 99 cent pricing.