"Microsoft has put Wes Moss, Certified Financial Planner, to work in telling everyone why the Zune Pass makes more sense than purchases from the iTunes store."
Yep... Keep pimping those recurring bills in the down economy, Microsoft. I'm sure lots of people are looking to shell out another $15 a month for something they can't own. I don't know why I'm even bothering addressing this, though. Lots of defunct or little-used services have tried the rental model over the past few years and none of them have really caught on with customers. While I do think they have their place (please, spare me the crap in the comments; I'm really not interested in yet another lecture on why renting your music is such a great engine for discovery of blah blah blah), a vast majority of people want to actually own their music as evidenced by the fact that none of the rental services has been more than a niche blip on the MP3 market.
Oh yeah; did I mention that you're pretty much locked in to a Zune or Windows-based PC when you rent your music for $15 a month?
How quaint.
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Honestly, this post smells like troll flamebait to me. Abrasively state your viewpoint on a topic, then immediately dismiss an argument of the opposing viewpoint.
As is often said, it takes all types. I have yet to see what the problem is with Microsoft offering the Zune Pass as an alternative. If that's not one's cup of tea, the normal process of buying music is still present.
As it is right now, the 10 permanent song downloads included with the Pass, valuing at roughly $10, drops the cost to roughly $5 a month, assuming you would have downloaded at least 10 songs during that time period anyway. So it's quite possible to gradually replace music downloaded with the Pass into owned music at no extra cost. And it also opens up the idea of channels, which I think are great and would be very costly to the user if implemented under any other system.
So there, and I didn't even use the music discovery argument, which is also still valid, even if brashly dismissed by you.
Honestly, this post smells like troll flamebait to me. Abrasively state your viewpoint on a topic, then immediately dismiss an argument of the opposing viewpoint.
As is often said, it takes all types. I have yet to see what the problem is with Microsoft offering the Zune Pass as an alternative. If that's not one's cup of tea, the normal process of buying music is still present.
And honestly, your reply, as usual, puts words in my mouth while criticizing me for those words.
I didn't say there was a "problem" with MS offering subscriptions and even said they have their place. It's my opinion they are a bad idea in general and that consumers agree seeing as none of them have ever "caught on." If you put it in the context of these stupid ads, Apple is destroying Microsoft with a device that, in their words, costs thousands of dollars more to fill up with music.
Speaks volumes about subscriptions if you ask me.
As for whether or not I'm abrasive, well that's just fine. I'll just say if you want wishy washy touchy feely be nice BS, you ain't gonna find it here.
Sorry.
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The biggest problem is that Microsoft and its predecessors still don't know how to sell subscription music models. Thinking of it as "pay $15 and carry any music you want" is the wrong way, because then consumers worry about ownership.
Rather, think of it as "your own customized radio station, that you can carry in your pocket", and suddenly it sounds cool and useful. That's why I have Rhapsody (albeit without the pocket-carrying, because I carry an iPhone).
I repeat this completely with tongue in cheek, as I really have no problem with the Zune (and would love it if they created a desktop client that actually ran on OSX), but, as somebody else said elsewhere, the Zune is so lame that it cannot sell better than an iPod that costs $29,985 more.
Microsoft's reasoning seems to assume that everybody with an iPod does nothing with that iPod but listen to music purchased from the iTunes store. I've never believed Microsoft had a good grasp of digital media. Windows Media Player still can't handle podcasting, which is what I've primarily used my iPod/Touch/iPhone for. Music is more of an afterthought in my case.
When I first started getting into downloading podcasts, if only WMP could have handled them and synced them with the Windows Mobile devices I used to use, I might have stuck with them. iTunes handles podcasts and library syncing (yes, only with Apple products) well enough that I went with that platform.
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Cue Jason's cable TV analogy They always leave out the fact that once you stop paying the $15 their errr your music vanishes.
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Microsoft's reasoning seems to assume that everybody with an iPod does nothing with that iPod but listen to music purchased from the iTunes store. I've never believed Microsoft had a good grasp of digital media. Windows Media Player still can't handle podcasting, which is what I've primarily used my iPod/Touch/iPhone for. Music is more of an afterthought in my case.
When I first started getting into downloading podcasts, if only WMP could have handled them and synced them with the Windows Mobile devices I used to use, I might have stuck with them. iTunes handles podcasts and library syncing (yes, only with Apple products) well enough that I went with that platform.
I have to agree. I've got a 16GB iPhone and most of the space is filled up with podcasts. Previously I'd had windows mobile phones and I really hated iTunes (still not a big fan of it for music organization) but when I started downloading the pod casts I realized they had the process in the bag.
I'm still surprised that the latest version of WMP doesn't do it.
I listen to more podcasts than music and so a subscription service wouldn't cut it.
It's my opinion they are a bad idea in general and that consumers agree seeing as none of them have ever "caught on."
They haven't "caught on" because they can't exist in a vacuum - they need to go hand in hand with the hardware, and the iPod has that market more or less locked up. Virtually impossible for any player to break into it, now or a few years back. If and when Apple offers a music subscription service, I think it will be a huge success and they'll see big numbers of people move toward it.
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They haven't "caught on" because they can't exist in a vacuum - they need to go hand in hand with the hardware, and the iPod has that market more or less locked up. Virtually impossible for any player to break into it, now or a few years back. If and when Apple offers a music subscription service, I think it will be a huge success and they'll see big numbers of people move toward it.
I think initially you'd be right. If Apple launched subs, it would be giant at the beginning, but once the novelty wears off it would be a flat plain of mediocrity. I just don't see a mass market appeal for paying a monthly fee to keep music on your music player. Do they have their place? Sure, but that place isn't mass market. If it were, there are plenty of devices that supported the Plays for Sure DRM that should've soared. The hardware wasn't that poor compared to the iPod. If people wanted subs, they would've bought any device they could get them on.
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Microsoft Lobs Out Latest Red Herring: $30,000 to Fill an iPod
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