Rolling Stones Pulled From eMusic
08th May 2008 | by Aidan Williamson
After just setting up home on the pioneering music download service which allows subscribers unrestricted MP3 downloads in return for a low cost monthly payment, albums by the Rolling Stones are coming down again.

In their statement about the development, the company did not explain the exact reason why the situation came about, only that it was “an industry snafu”.

The full statement reads as follows:

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Before posting the ABKCO catalogue on eMusic at the beginning of April, we pursued every level of due diligence possible. We triple- and quadruple-checked with every possible party at both ABKCO and Universal Music Group, which distributes the label, and the word was unanimous: let's do this. Green-lit, we proceeded to do what we do best: we got the best writers in the world to put it in context, and we presented the catalogue to you with an impressive amount of musical and historical background. ABKCO and UMG were both incredibly impressed by both the treatment and the sales: the catalogue (even stuff beyond the Stones) generated a huge number of downloads.

But this was not enough. Due to events outside of our control, we are being forced to remove the entire ABKCO catalogue from eMusic effective tomorrow morning. We hope to get them back at some point, but for now, we have no choice.

The shame here is that you, our customers, the exact sort of music fan that the music industry should celebrate and reward, suffers as a result of this classic industry snafu. While the industry concerns itself with arcane details, the music consumer -- a dying breed, mind you -- is restricted from legally acquiring music. It's a maddening situation that eMusic has been committed to repairing for the last ten years, and always will be: people don't mind paying for music so long as it's affordable and they aren't handicapped by DRM restrictions and the like when they pull out their wallets.

We are of course sorry to see the catalogue go, and we are disappointed that so many customers didn't have the opportunity to own more of it.

Thanks for the article.  Yet another example of ABKCO not receiving the proper "juice" to continue this.