Popular US-based music subscription site eMusic is to close the door on New Zealand users.

An eMusic spokesperson tells us existing New Zealand customers will continue to be able to use the service, as they "grandfathered" under the current US subscription plans. However, they will soon stop accepting new customers from New Zealand (or anywhere else outside the US, Canada or EU).

Recent changes to the traditionally indie-focussed eMusic, namely a deal with Sony followed by a steep increase in the per-song price of all music on the site, have drawn howls of complaint from subscribers worldwide. Within hours of the announcement the obligatory Facebook account had already been established.

Criticisim has primarily been on the pricing and what some see as the unwelcome arrival of Sony-owned material, but has also spread to a range of issues, including accusations of censorship and questions over how much of the new pricing is to be passed on to labels and artists.

The situation is particularly harsh on users from New Zealand. American users faced with price increases will at least be getting access to a raft of new repertoire thanks to the Sony deal. Canadian, British and EU customers won't immediately get the Sony trakcs, but their music prices are being maintained. New Zealanders get the worst end of both deals - no new content but increased prices nonetheless.

eMusic says it is obligated to honour licensing contracts with labels as to where we can make their music available for download, but apparently has no plans to negotiate Sony rights for the Australasian market.

It's not known how many Antipodean users eMusic has, though judging from the number of voices on their forum and review pages there has always been a fairly substantial customer base there.