Emusic and Naxos
by Alex
D00d — Naxos has just licensed _it’s entire catalog to Emusic_. I signed up with Emusic back when it had a thriving social network attached to it and featured unlimited, DRM-free MP3 downloads for US$20 a month. Then they got bought out, wiped out all of the reviews and playlists we had written, and instituted a by-the-track fee for downloads. I stayed away for years, but finally rejoined when I moved to Hawaii and they expanded their catalog. It was a grudging return, but they did something I needed, and as a business were making better and better decisions about expanding there catalog. Now Naxos, one of my favorite music labels, is releasing all their stuff on Emusic as well. This is fantastic — Naxos not only has an incredibly deep bench of classical standards, they also provide great recordings of new and unusual classical music. And these are not just reference recordings — Naxos earns Grammys and Grammy nods every year for its fantastically engineered and performed albums from superb but lesser known artists. So whether you want a recording of Vaughan Williams’s House of Life song cycle, the complete Bach motets (indeed, my FAVORITE recording of the complete Bach motets), or a recording of the entire Slichot service “according to the Orthodox rite” they are now available, DRM free, in a way that supports classical music.