
<PAGE>

                                                                  EXHIBIT (a)(8)

This announcement is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer
 to sell Shares (as defined below). The Offer (as defined below) is made solely
 by the Offer to Purchase, dated April 20, 2001 (the "Offer to Purchase"), and
the related Letter of Transmittal, and is being made to all holders of Shares.
 The Offer is not being made to (nor will tenders be accepted from or on behalf
 of) holders of Shares in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Offer or
    the acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the laws of such
    jurisdiction or any administrative or judicial action pursuant thereto.

                      Notice of Offer to Purchase for Cash
                     All Outstanding Shares of Common Stock
                                       of
                                EMusic.com Inc.
                                       at
                              $0.57 Net Per Share
                                       by
                          Universal Acquisition Corp.
                          a wholly owned subsidiary of
                          Universal Music Group, Inc.

     Universal Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation ("Purchaser") and a
wholly owned subsidiary of Universal Music Group, Inc., a California corporation
("Parent"), is offering to purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of
Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the "Shares"), of EMusic.com Inc., a
Delaware corporation (the "Company"), for $0.57 per Share, net to the seller in
cash (the "Offer Price"), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth
in the Offer to Purchase and in the related Letter of Transmittal (which
together, along with any amendments or supplements thereto, constitute the
"Offer"). Stockholders who tender directly to the Depositary (as defined below)
will not be obligated to pay brokerage fees or commissions or, subject to
Instruction 6 of the Letter of Transmittal, stock transfer taxes, if any, on the
purchase of Shares by Purchaser pursuant to the Offer. Stockholders who hold
their Shares through a broker or bank should consult such institution as to
whether it charges any service fees or commissions. Purchaser is offering to
acquire all Shares as a first step in acquiring the entire equity interest in
the Company. Following consummation of the Offer, Parent and Purchaser intend to
effect the merger described below.

  THE OFFER AND WITHDRAWAL RIGHTS WILL EXPIRE AT 12:00 MIDNIGHT, NEW YORK CITY
         TIME, ON THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2001, UNLESS THE OFFER IS EXTENDED.

     The Offer is being made pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the
"Merger Agreement"), dated as of April 6, 2001, by and among the Company, Parent
and Purchaser, pursuant to which, as soon as practicable after the completion of
the Offer and satisfaction or waiver of all conditions to the Merger (as defined
below), Purchaser will be merged with and into the Company and the Company will
continue as the surviving corporation and will become a wholly owned subsidiary
of Parent. The merger, as effected pursuant to the immediately preceding
sentence, is referred to herein as the "Merger." At the effective time of the
Merger (the "Effective Time"), each Share then outstanding (other than Shares
held by Parent, Purchaser or any other wholly owned subsidiary of Parent or by
dissenting stockholders who have properly exercised their appraisal rights) will
be canceled and extinguished and converted into the right to receive the Offer
<PAGE>

Price in cash, payable to the holder thereof, without interest.  If Purchaser
acquires, pursuant to the Offer and the Purchaser Option (as defined below), at
least 90% of the then issued and outstanding Shares, Purchaser intends to effect
the Merger without a vote of the Company's stockholders pursuant to Section 253
of the Delaware General Corporation Law (a "Short-Form Merger").  To facilitate
a Short-Form Merger, the Company has granted to Parent and Purchaser an
irrevocable option (the "Purchaser Option"), exercisable if Parent and Purchaser
accept for payment pursuant to the Offer more than 80% but less than 90% of the
Shares then outstanding, to purchase additional shares of Common Stock from the
Company, at a price per share equal to the Offer Price, in order to reach the
above referenced 90% threshold.

     THE COMPANY'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS (1) HAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED THE MERGER
AGREEMENT AND THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED THEREBY, INCLUDING THE OFFER AND THE
MERGER, (2) HAS UNANIMOUSLY DETERMINED THAT THE MERGER IS ADVISABLE AND THAT THE
TERMS OF THE OFFER AND THE MERGER ARE FAIR TO AND IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE
COMPANY'S STOCKHOLDERS, AND (3) HAS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDED THAT THE COMPANY'S
STOCKHOLDERS ACCEPT THE OFFER AND TENDER THEIR SHARES PURSUANT TO THE OFFER.

     Simultaneously with entering into the Merger Agreement, Parent and
Purchaser also entered into a Stockholders Agreement (the "Stockholders
Agreement") with each of certain current and former directors and officers of
the Company (each, a "Signatory Holder"), pursuant to which each Signatory
Holder agreed to (a) tender all Shares owned by him or her in the Offer, (b)
granted Parent and Purchaser an option, exercisable under certain circumstances,
to purchase all Shares owned by him or her at the price per Share paid in the
Offer, and (c) agreed to vote all of his or her Shares in favor of the Merger
Agreement and the Merger and against any alternative acquisition proposal.
Together, the Signatory Holders own approximately 17% of the issued and
outstanding Shares.  According to the Company, as of April 6, 2001, there were
43,202,110 Shares issued and outstanding.

     The Offer is conditioned upon, among other things, there being validly
tendered and not withdrawn prior to the Expiration Date (as defined below) that
number of Shares which constitutes a majority of the outstanding Shares on a
fully diluted basis on the date Shares are accepted for payment.  As used
herein, "fully diluted basis" means the number of Shares outstanding, together
with the number of Shares which the Company may be required to issue pursuant to
outstanding options or obligations which do not terminate upon consummation of
the Offer, whether or not vested or then exercisable.  The Offer is also subject
to other terms and conditions described in Section 14 of the Offer to Purchase.

     Allen & Company Incorporated ("Allen & Co."), the Company's financial
advisor, has delivered to the Company its written opinion, dated April 6, 2001,
to the effect that, as of that date and based on and subject to the matters
stated in such opinion, the consideration to be received by the Company's
stockholders in the Offer and the Merger is fair, from a financial point of
view, to such stockholders.  A copy of the written opinion of Allen & Co. is
contained in the Company's Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule
14D-9 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the
Offer, a copy of which is being furnished to the Company's stockholders
concurrently with the Offer to Purchase.

     For purposes of the Offer, Purchaser will be deemed to have accepted for
payment, and thereby purchased, Shares validly tendered and not withdrawn
<PAGE>

if, as and when Purchaser gives oral or written notice to American Stock
Transfer & Trust Company (the "Depositary") of Purchaser's acceptance for
payment of such Shares pursuant to the Offer. Payment for Shares accepted for
payment pursuant to the Offer will be made by deposit of the purchase price
therefor with the Depositary, which will act as agent for the tendering
stockholders for the purposes of receiving payments from Purchaser and
transmitting such payments to the tendering stockholders whose Shares have been
accepted for payment. In all cases, payment for Shares tendered and accepted for
payment pursuant to the Offer will be made only after timely receipt by the
Depositary of (a) certificates for (or a timely Book-Entry Confirmation (as
defined in the Offer to Purchase) with respect to) such Shares, (b) a Letter of
Transmittal, properly completed and duly executed, with any required signature
guarantees (or, in the case of a book-entry transfer, an Agent's Message (as
defined in the Offer to Purchase)), and (c) any other documents required by the
Letter of Transmittal. Accordingly, tendering Stockholders may be paid at
different times depending upon when certificates for, or Book-Entry
Confirmations with respect to, the Shares are actually received by the
Depositary. Under no circumstances will interest be paid on the purchase price
to be paid by Purchaser for the tendered Shares, regardless of any extension of
the Offer or any delay in making such payment. Tenders of Shares made pursuant
to the Offer are irrevocable, except that Shares tendered pursuant to the Offer
may be withdrawn pursuant to the procedures set forth below at any time prior to
the Expiration Date, and unless theretofore accepted for payment by Purchaser
pursuant to the Offer, may also be withdrawn at any time after June 18, 2001, as
described in Section 4 of the Offer to Purchase.

     For a withdrawal to be effective, a written or facsimile transmission
notice of withdrawal must be timely received by the Depositary at one of its
addresses set forth on the back cover of the Offer to Purchase.  Any such notice
of withdrawal must specify the name of the person who tendered the Shares to be
withdrawn, the number of Shares to be withdrawn and the name of the registered
holder of such Shares, if different from that of the person who tendered such
Shares.  If certificates evidencing Shares to be withdrawn have been delivered
or otherwise identified to the Depositary, then, prior to the physical release
of such certificates, the serial numbers shown on the particular certificates to
be withdrawn must be submitted to the Depositary, and the signature(s) on the
notice of withdrawal must be guaranteed by an Eligible Institution (as defined
in Section 3 of the Offer to Purchase), unless such Shares have been tendered
for the account of an Eligible Institution.  If Shares have been tendered
pursuant to the procedures for book-entry tender as set forth in Section 3 of
the Offer to Purchase, any notice of withdrawal must also specify the name and
number of the account at the Book-Entry Transfer Facility to be credited with
the withdrawn Shares.  Any Shares properly withdrawn will thereafter be deemed
not to have been validly tendered for purposes of the Offer.  However, withdrawn
Shares may be re-tendered at any time prior to the Expiration Date by following
one of the procedures described in Section 3 of the Offer to Purchase.

     The term "Expiration Date" means 12:00 midnight, New York City time, on May
17, 2001, unless and until Purchaser, in accordance with the terms of the Merger
Agreement, extends the period for which the Offer is open, in which event the
term "Expiration Date" will mean the latest time and date on which the Offer, as
so extended, expires.

     All questions as to the form and validity (including, without limitation,
time of receipt) of notices of withdrawal will be determined by
<PAGE>

Purchaser, in its sole discretion, whose determination shall be final and
binding. None of Parent, Purchaser, the Depositary, Georgeson Shareholder
Communications Inc. (the "Information Agent"), or any other person will be under
any duty to give notification of any defects or irregularities in any notice of
withdrawal or incur any liability for failure to give such notification.

     Subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, Purchaser may
extend the Expiration Date to allow for the satisfaction or waiver of
unsatisfied and unwaived conditions, or under some circumstances, to obtain the
tender of at least 80% of the outstanding Shares on a fully diluted basis.  In
lieu of an extension, Purchaser may elect to provide a "subsequent offering
period" in accordance with Rule 14d-11 under the Securities and Exchange Act of
1934 (the "Exchange Act").  Oral or written notice of any extension of the
Expiration Date or the provision of a subsequent offering period would be given
to the Depositary and a public announcement would be made by no later than 9:00
a.m., New York City time, on the next business day after the previously
scheduled expiration date.  During an extension, all Shares previously tendered
and not withdrawn would remain subject to the Offer, subject to the right of a
tendering stockholder to withdraw such stockholder's Shares.  During a
subsequent offering period, stockholders would not be able to withdraw Shares
previously tendered in the Offer and stockholders would not be able to withdraw
Shares tendered during the subsequent offering period.

     The receipt by a stockholder of cash for Shares pursuant to the Offer and
the Merger will be a taxable transaction for United States federal income tax
purposes, and may also be a taxable transaction under applicable state, local or
foreign tax laws. All stockholders are urged to consult with their own tax
advisors as to the particular tax consequences to them of the Offer and the
Merger.

     The information required to be disclosed by paragraph (d)(1) of Rule 14d-6
under the Exchange Act is contained in the Offer to Purchase and is incorporated
herein by reference.

     The Company has provided Purchaser with mailing labels containing the names
and addresses of all record holders of Shares and with security position
listings of Shares held in stock depositories, together with all other available
listings and computer files containing names, addresses and security position
listings of record holders and beneficial owners of Shares.  The Offer to
Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and other relevant documents will be
mailed to record holders of Shares, will be furnished (for subsequent
transmittal to beneficial owners of Shares) to the brokers, dealers, commercial
banks, trust companies and others whose names, or the names of whose nominees,
appear on these lists and may be mailed directly to beneficial owners.

     The Offer to Purchase and the related Letter of Transmittal contain
important information which should be read carefully before any decision is made
with respect to the Offer.

     Questions and requests for assistance or additional copies of the Offer to
Purchase, Letter of Transmittal and any other tender offer documents may be
directed to the Information Agent at its telephone number and location listed
below, and copies will be furnished at Purchaser's expense. Purchaser will not
pay fees to any broker or dealer or other person (other than the
<PAGE>

Information Agent and the Depositary) for soliciting tenders of Shares pursuant
to the Offer.

                    The Information Agent for the Offer is:

                   Georgeson Shareholder Communications Inc.

                          17 State Street, 10th Floor
                            New York, New York 10004
                 Banks and Broker call collect: (212) 440-9800
                   All others call toll-free: (800) 223-2064

April 20, 2001
