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eMusic, as we have previously learned is the number two digital music provider in terms of catalog size, has once again reached another milestone. Their most recent announcement puts them at the 4 million mark, which is now made up of music from more than 40,000 record labels. Some most recent additions include music from Nine Inch Nails, Liz Phair and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

eMusic currently offers music in the MP3 format, of which are all DRM-free. Much of the collection are independent titles, which coincidentally also places eMusic as the number 1 independent music site. In addition to the music tracks, eMusic also offers a complete range of ebooks in a variety of genres.

Read [eMusic]

Just four and half years after its launch, eMusic is reporting that it has already sold around 200 million digital songs through web downloads. What makes it even sweeter for eMusic is that it has achieved the feat without too much tie-up with the major record labels. eMusic managed to sustain sales growth through its cooperation with independent digital music content providers.

eMusic is also attributing the growth of its web-based music service to the launch of rival Amazon MP3 which said to have led to the increased in awareness of eMusic. Amazon MP3 contributed to around 40 million of eMusic’s download statistics. Since Amazon MP3’s launch in September 2007, eMusic has sold around 7 million tracks monthly.

eMusic’s success can also be attributed to the increasing popularity of DRM-free music online. eMusic was among the first online music store which offered DRM free songs. It has been Amazon’s secret and has catapulted it to being the second online music store next to Apple’s iTunes despite higher per-song cost. eMusic would have had higher figures if it had established tie ups with major labels as well.

Via [electronista]

eMusic, together with the Music Intelligence Institute, presents this Music Intelligence Quiz developed by experts in the music field. It consists of 30 multiple-choice questions covering many genres and eras of music. The maximum number of points is 180, and there are 5 levels of music intelligence: Top 40 Radio Listener, Air Guitarist, Birthday Party DJ, Mix-Tape Master, and Musical Magician.

What’s great about this test is that, unlike other assessments out there, you are not obligated to provide a name or email address or register in order to see your results, although after you view your results eMusic invites you to check out some music suggestions based on your music intelligence level, but that’s fine. You can provide some demographic info (year of birth, gender, location) which is no big deal, but that would be cool if you could see some sort of results breakdown by these factors, or if you could get a badge to post on your social networking profile. Perhaps in the next version. Anyway I feel that this test is fair and accurate, as my music IQ turns out to be 126 which makes me a Mix-Tape Master. Try it yourself, but no cheating and no taking it over and over again to try to improve your score!

Read [Seen This]

Immediately after USA Today published a report declaring that Amazon’s music store is now the number 2 online seller of digital music, eMusic CEO, David Pakman disputed the report and said that eMusic is the number 2 online music seller and not Amazon.

“This morning I read with some surprise in USA Today that Amazon is “No. 2 in digital [music] sales since opening nearly six months ago.” Amazon’s entry into this market last year was an important milestone in the continuing irrelevance of DRM and the overly restrictive and anti-consumer policies that the music industry has foolishly wielded in this new, digital age. But let’s get one thing straight: outside of iTunes, no one sells more music digitally than eMusic, and we don’t plan on giving up that title anytime soon.”

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Everyone has assumed that Apple’s iPhone would be going to the network that typically raises the bar, but reports are flying everywhere that Cingular is about to pair with another music service.

Expectations are for Cingular to pair with Napster, Yahoo and eMusic. First offering will include PlaysForSure so you can play subscription tracks, eventually followed by pay-per-track and all-you-can-eat offerings. The phones will also have Cingular’s “Music ID” that allows users to hold a phone up to a speaker and have the song playing automatically matched with the Napster database. Cingular is currently the only provider out of the big there (Verizon, Cingular, and Sprint) without a music download service, so it is clear that something will be coming - though it is any one’s call on what it will actually be.

Update:Cingular also teamed with XM Satellite Radio to offer mobile access to audio streams of 25 channels for $8.99 a month.

Cingular Music contains eight distinct menu options:

• Music Player: Music Player is where you can access the phone’s entire catalog of music. Within Music Player, users can create their own playlists by choosing songs from the All Songs menu list as well as have songs played in random order.
• Shop Music: The Shop Music folder is where users go to purchase or explore music content from Napster and Yahoo! Music, depending on your handset. Users can also personalize their phones by purchasing ringtones and Answer Tones™ from the Cingular MEdia Mall.
• MusicID: For the first time, users can identify a song with MusicID, Cingular’s music recognition service, and then purchase that song from the handset by directly linking into the Napster library where the song(s) can later be side-loaded. Beyond this new feature, MusicID can easily identify a recorded song by a simple press of the button. Within seconds, a song can be analyzed among a database of more than 3 million songs and then, when identified, you are provided the name of the artist and the track. And, if the song matches an available ringtone, you can easily purchase it without having to spend time searching.
• Music Videos: The Music Videos folder provides a direct link to Cingular’s video offerings, including video content from MTV Networks’ premiere MTV, VH1 and CMT music brands; Warner Music (Music Choice); as well as original video footage from Cingular Sounds Live (CSL) concert series.
• Streaming Music: The Streaming Music folder is where users can listen to various genres of music content from either XM Radio Mobile or MobiRadio, depending on their handset.
• The Buzz: The Buzz is the place to go to access Billboard Mobile, a mobile music application that gives Cingular customers access to music and entertainment news, Billboard charts and local concert information, directly from the handset.
• Community: Comprised of artist fan sites and chat rooms, the Community folder is where music fans can connect with others who share similar interests. From sharing music and reviews within a particular community (via SMS or IM) or simply listening to music from your favorite artists’ site, the Community folder is a one-stop-shop for discovering and re-discovering music.
• Music Apps: The Music Apps folder is the home for other new and exciting music-centric applications including Mobilcast, a podcasting service, and Hip Hop Official, a music video application.

Featured Handsets
Although Cingular offers several music-centric handsets, five phones will feature the dedicated Cingular Music menu – the Cingular SYNC by Samsung (available Nov 6 for $49.99 after a $100 rebate), LG CU500, Sony Ericsson W810i, Sony Ericsson W300i and Cingular 3125.

Beginning November 6, consumers can visit www.cingularsource.com/cingularmusic for more details on Cingular Music, including handset information.

Three new RCA mp3 hard drive players are available, each delivering more than 130 hours of entertainment on four and six gigabyte hard disc drives. The RCA H100, RCA H106 and RCA H116 all have a 1.5” OLED screen, weight under 2.7 ounces, and are mp3/WMA/WMA DRM/Audible/Janus capable. The H100 carries a suggested retail price of $139 while the H106 and H116 have a retail price of $169. The H116 also comes bundled with an FM transmitter, for your car.

The players can accommodate up to 16 hours of playback time with a battery that recharges from the USB connection to a PC. The H100, H106 and H116 each come with a full suite of accessories, including USB cable, earbud headphones, 100 free mp3 downloads from eMusic.com, a free trial offer from Yahoo! Music Unlimited and from Audible.com, and music management software.

Product Page [RCA]