Entelligence: Time for Microsoft to tell a better Zune tale
By Michael Gartenberg 
posted May 22nd 2009 3:02PM
posted May 22nd 2009 3:02PM
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.
A lot's been made of the new Zune commercial that Microsoft aired recently. If you have haven't seen it, take a look. Now don't get me wrong. I think there's a lot that Microsoft can do with Zune, but this ad doesn't quite do it for me. What's wrong? First, it took a shot at Apple that felt silly -- after all, most consumers don't spend $30,000 to fill up their iPod (how much did it cost to fill yours?). Even if that's the case, buying a Zune Pass won't fill up an iPod either. Second, it started to make a value play that's real, but stopped short of actually making it.
The ad was interesting as it begins the discussion of the value of the Zune Pass. That's important. The power of the Zune Pass lies at the core of the differentiation of their whole business model, subscription services vs. single song downloads. Microsoft needs to go further and explain how these two models can co-exist with each other. Up until now there were only two models for music, the free and ad supported stuff on radio, or music you bought or owned (or perhaps acquired elsewhere). Zune Pass and other similar services change all that. While consumers "rent" video content all the time from theaters, cable companies, Netflix etc, there's also a lot of other stuff sold on DVD. There's no reason for this to be binary -- rent or buy -- it's just never been applied to music and when it has, it's not been explained or marketed well at all.
Both models could easily exist side by side but the first step to making this mainstream is to educate and evangelize the market. Microsoft started to do that but didn't take it far enough. Rather than try to make the argument that filling an iPod costs $30,000, Microsoft should have focused on the value play for Zune. Oddly, they completely fail to mention that Zune Pass users get to keep ten songs a month, effectively reducing the cost of the
subscription to $4.99. In a commercial that was all about the value of the experience, to me it was a big oversight and something that should have been highlighted.
Microsoft also has a credible device story as well. Is the Zune story only about listening on a PC? Remember, devices still drive consumers to stores and services, not the other way around. Microsoft needs to keep the Zune hardware story alive. Somewhere in that commercial there should have been an actual Zune.
Zune can be a solid experience, but one that is still quite a distance from being in the position to challenge Apple's dominance in the field. Making a "financial" case about music value on the iPod was a waste of what could have been a good commercial, especially when there's a much better tale they could have told about the overall value of Zune Pass. Now is the time where Microsoft needs to step up and tell the real Zune story. This holiday will be an important focal point, and there's a large uphill battle that Microsoft needs to engage in if Zune is going to gain any traction in the marketplace. That involves not only telling a better story but introducing some very compelling devices that will resonate with the market beyond the current hardware. I'm not sure the market will listen much more to the words of Bill Gates, "I'm sure a year from now we'll do even better." At least they've stopped calling the iPod "The Model T of Music Players."
So, do you think there's a model here for subscription services? What's the Zune story you think Microsoft needs to tell?
Michael Gartenberg is vice president of strategy and analysis at Interpret, LLC. His weblog can be found at gartenblog.net. Contact him at gartenberg AT gmail DOT com. Views expressed here are his own.
The ad was interesting as it begins the discussion of the value of the Zune Pass. That's important. The power of the Zune Pass lies at the core of the differentiation of their whole business model, subscription services vs. single song downloads. Microsoft needs to go further and explain how these two models can co-exist with each other. Up until now there were only two models for music, the free and ad supported stuff on radio, or music you bought or owned (or perhaps acquired elsewhere). Zune Pass and other similar services change all that. While consumers "rent" video content all the time from theaters, cable companies, Netflix etc, there's also a lot of other stuff sold on DVD. There's no reason for this to be binary -- rent or buy -- it's just never been applied to music and when it has, it's not been explained or marketed well at all.
Both models could easily exist side by side but the first step to making this mainstream is to educate and evangelize the market. Microsoft started to do that but didn't take it far enough. Rather than try to make the argument that filling an iPod costs $30,000, Microsoft should have focused on the value play for Zune. Oddly, they completely fail to mention that Zune Pass users get to keep ten songs a month, effectively reducing the cost of the
"Zune can be a solid experience, but one that is still quite a distance from being in the position to challenge Apple's dominance in the field." |
Microsoft also has a credible device story as well. Is the Zune story only about listening on a PC? Remember, devices still drive consumers to stores and services, not the other way around. Microsoft needs to keep the Zune hardware story alive. Somewhere in that commercial there should have been an actual Zune.
Zune can be a solid experience, but one that is still quite a distance from being in the position to challenge Apple's dominance in the field. Making a "financial" case about music value on the iPod was a waste of what could have been a good commercial, especially when there's a much better tale they could have told about the overall value of Zune Pass. Now is the time where Microsoft needs to step up and tell the real Zune story. This holiday will be an important focal point, and there's a large uphill battle that Microsoft needs to engage in if Zune is going to gain any traction in the marketplace. That involves not only telling a better story but introducing some very compelling devices that will resonate with the market beyond the current hardware. I'm not sure the market will listen much more to the words of Bill Gates, "I'm sure a year from now we'll do even better." At least they've stopped calling the iPod "The Model T of Music Players."
So, do you think there's a model here for subscription services? What's the Zune story you think Microsoft needs to tell?
Michael Gartenberg is vice president of strategy and analysis at Interpret, LLC. His weblog can be found at gartenblog.net. Contact him at gartenberg AT gmail DOT com. Views expressed here are his own.
Let me know when you have spent 30K on your music.
MSoft is really dumb.
DIFFERENCE:
I have NEVER bought a song off the iTunes store.
I have almost 260 songs in my iTunes Library, and I have only used CD's that I own.
I would never pay for Zune Pass.
Cuz Microsoft "just stinks"
The reason no one buys Zune's is because Microsoft was a day late and a dollar short when it came to releasing an MP3 player. Apple always comes out with the best most innovative new products. Competition tries to follow up these products with similar products and they never pan out. A great example is the number of touch screen phones with a strikingly similar interface to the iPhone that have come out the last 2 years. People recognize and value an true innovative product and usually shy away from the imitators. No matter how much money Microsoft pumps into Zune advertising, it has no chance against the iPod.
And of course, I agree with all of the comments on here. Who pays for all their music? We deserve to get free music after all the years Sam Goodie had people enslaved into paying $15 for a CD in the days before Napster. Consider it affirmative action. If you think downloading music is wrong and immoral, buy a Zune. I'm sure you'll be able to find one on a 1/2 off discount rack coming to a town near you.
People need to stop bashing Zunes. I currently own an iphone and used to own a 1st gen Zune. I can tell you this much:
The Zune beats out all ipods minus the touch hands down. It has better software, not to mention better hardware for all you audio heads out there. Even though the touch is ahead right now, I wouldn't be surprised if Zune HD came in and took the show. I expect great things.
iTunes is a trash program. I've tried out a lot of different software over the years and iTunes is at the bottom of the list. I mean yeah, genius was cool for about 3 days, but it has no lasting value. The sad thing is I still use iTunes, because I don't want to have to maintain 2 audio collections. Sorry I'm not supporting my opinion with any real evidence, but I'm on vacation and don't really care what any of you think. You're not going to change my opinion and I'm not going to change yours, so why try.
So I'm a switcher. I switched from Mac to Vista-- No kidding! Really, I was a PC user before I was a Mac user, then I went to Mac for about five years. I just recently landed back in the world of Windows, and I'm happy with it.
I was slavishly sticking to the iPod when I was a Mac user. Primarily, this is because the Zune (and several other Windows-based PMPs) support for Mac OS X was non-existent or awful, and none of them supported iTunes. I liked the Zune, too. I would have gotten one when I was a Mac user, if it had been as friendly to OS X as the iPod is to Windows Vista.
However, that ship has sailed.
Now that I'm a Vista user, I *still* scoff at the Zune. This time, though, it's not for lack of support; It's because Creative's Zen X-Fi is a better player at a lower price. It has a built-in speaker. It has expandable memory. Higher-end models will do WiFi streaming. It's just as easy to use and friendly with Windows Media Player 11.
As for these subscription services, I wouldn't bother and I think it's the wrong model to work with. Maybe there are some fickle people out there who don't want to own their music, but I like to know that when it's mine, it's usable anywhere; Not just on my PMP. It should be burnable onto a disc. It should be something I can transfer to my next computer. It should be able to go with me everywhere, from home to work to car, no matter WHAT device I am using at the time.
Subscription services don't allow for that. They're dependent on the device to police your listening. Don't have your Zune? You can't hear that tune.
This is simply a bad marketing move. Subscription sucks whether it's Rhapsody, Napster, Real, or any other "you lose your music when you don't pay the monthly fee" service. Can you imagine being short the $15 bucks one month and having your entire music library locked down, so you can't play any of it? It's idiotic.
If MS wants Zune to succeed and kick Apple's butt, then they need the following on a device:
* Memory card expandability (i.e., it's not a separate library, but actually extends your device's "main" storage)
* A decent speaker built in for books, podcasts, video watching, and other things that a user might want to echew wearing headphones for.
* Small and pocketable.
* Don't try to do too much and compete with PDAs. Make a PMP and focus on the entertainment media.
* Sturdy enough to survive in a pocket without a case, with a sliding cover for the screen.
* A user interface that flows well (they're pretty much there, now).
* Easy sync. No extended fights with the media player to get playlists, etc. to show up properly.
* Choice of colors (important to some people).
* Controls with tactile feedback, that can be accessed and used properly without needing to look at the device.
* Long battery life.
* Short sync time.
* Priced competitively with Zen and Sansa, not priced to compete at the same level as iPod.
* Include a 6-month "One-time Accidental Damage" coverage for the device with the one-year warranty.
So far, nothing's perfect... But lots of devices are close. I'm pleased with the Zen X-Fi 8GB. I don't need the WiFi, and I can always expand the memory myself, later. It's slick, small, and lets me get stuff done without needing to carry around my ear buds.
Creative has it right this time. Zune is still trying to compete with the iPod, using the iPod's rules.
don't worry, in another 20 years they will be renting your whole national culture to you and you wont even know how they robbed you.
The point of a high capacity iPod is not to fill it with thousands and thousands of songs you'll never listen to, it's to fill it with the music you want PLUS videos (tv shows, films etc.), which obviously take up much more space.
Hi, I'm a Dave.