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Originally Posted by djrudiak
Has anyone heard what is the mindset at Microsoft in only offering the Marketplace to people residing in the US? Of all the issues that come to my mind, I can't figure out how they can't overcome them.
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4) Distribution agreements - Again something that Apple has been able to figure out. This is something that is neither hardware nor software in nature. If Microsoft only signed an agreement to distribute content in the United States, I'm sure that the content provider would not object to deriving revenue from other markets via Microsoft.
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I agree completely (obviously) and I'm practically tearing my hair out of my head trying to figure out why Microsoft seems to be completely and totally inept a this. The only two things that comes to mind are this:
Apple was the first company to negotiate big, international music distribution deals, and way back then most of the music labels probably though Apple would fail, or at best only be mildly successful. So they said "Sure, 99 cents sounds fine as long as the bit rate sucks." Fast-forward, and iTunes is massively successful. We've watched as the record labels pressured Apple for variable pricing year after year, trying to re-assert control over their music. They finally got it. The labels don't like all the power that Apple has, so here's my theory: they're making it very hard, if not impossible, for the Zune guys to get the same sort of deal that Apple has. They're trying to exert control over the Zune deal in a way they wish they could have done with the Apple deal years ago.
Witness the $1 that Universal demanded Microsoft pay them for every Zune sold. We're talking POWER STRUGGLE here people. Maybe that's one reason why Microsoft can't accomplish now what Apple did years ago - the record labels are more aware of what they want to control.
Second reason? Maybe Microsoft feels that the Zune Pass is SO important that they can't/won't launch Zune Marketplace without it. It's quite integral to the Zune experience - many new Zune features rely on the customer having a Zune Pass - so maybe Microsoft isn't launching in new markets unless that market includes the Zune Pass. I think this is a bit silly - not everyone wants a Zune Pass - but maybe it's another reason?
These are just my theories.
