A Different Perspective on the New Zune Pass

[Adam Krebs]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/games_consumer/zune_pass_pricing_is_insanely_cheap.html' target='_blank'>http://www.microsoft-watch.com/cont...nely_cheap.html</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Microsoft has effectively dropped the price of Zune all-you-can-download subscriptions to $5.09 a month. That's how I'm viewing the new Zune Pass pricing, where subscribers keep 10 songs a month. Forever. That's $9.90, figuring 99 cents a song. Subtract from the monthly $14.99 subscription fee and you've got a net cost of $5.09 a month. Cheap. Dirt cheap."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/zt/auto/1227545236.usr495.jpg" /></p><p>Joe Wilcox at Microsoft Watch has an interesting perspective on the <a href="http://www.zunethoughts.com/news/show/91404/zune-pass-now-offers-10-tracks-per-month-to-keep.html" target="_blank">New Zune Pass</a>. He breaks it down with an example of two teens, Jacko and Junie:</p><p><em>"Let's assume that both teen's parents paid for everything as part of the holiday giving. Jacko's mom and dad spent $99.99 for the Zune (online with no tax and free shipping) plus $44.97 for three months of Zune pass, for which Jacko keeps 30 songs. They paid $144.96, although the 30 songs have $29.70 value. Jacko downloaded 1,376 songs under unlimited download subscription pricing. Meanwhile, Junie's parents paid $149 (no tax because they live in New Hampshire) for the iPod nano and another $137.60 for just the music Junie wanted in the first month. They spent $286.60, and Junie is already asking for more music."</em></p><p>Wow. Never thought of it like that...</p>

[David Tucker]

Oh I have. That's why I love my Zune Pass (even disregarding the the free music) and with the 10 downloads its even more valuable.

[Vincent Ferrari]

If you think about it, the ten downloads just made the subscription fee $5 a month in the minds of most people ($1 a song for ten songs, then $5 left over). I have to say this is the kind of promo MS needs to do to sell Zunes, not lowering the price.

Nice job on their part. :cool:

[David Tucker]

Not to get really into that whole subject again but there is a huge thing about the $99.99 price point. There's a lot of market research into that price point being a sweet spot for the whole "Impulse Buy" thing. And honestly I don't think a 4GB player is worth more than $100 in this day and age ;)

But I agree...this is far more significant than a price drop. I have a friend who was trying to decide between the iPod and Zune like I said when this was first announced and she had decided on the iPod. She's put that purchase on hold to look into this. In fact...I don't see any way this can be looked at other than an incredible deal now.

[Vincent Ferrari]

But I agree...this is far more significant than a price drop. I have a friend who was trying to decide between the iPod and Zune like I said when this was first announced and she had decided on the iPod. She's put that purchase on hold to look into this. In fact...I don't see any way this can be looked at other than an incredible deal now.

Agreed. More of this is a good thing. :D

[jaxim]

On the surface this seems like a great deal, but I checked around the marketplace and I was hard pressed to find popular songs that came in the MP3 format.

It seems like the only big record companies that have MP3 files on the Zune marketplace are Universal and Time Warner. Sony and Columbia don't seem to have MP3s. I wish there were an advanced search feature in the Zune software so it was easier to locate MP3-only music.

I'm sorry, but I'm not going to download WMA files even if they don't have DRM - MP3 is still the way to go if you want to be totally compatible with many more devices.

[Timothy Huber]

My 13-year old daughter downloaded 15 albums last night from a couple of bands her friends told her about. The $15 per month is worth it for no other reason than I don't have to hear the same one album played over and over and over again. As far as I'm concerned, the new 10 tracks per month feature is gravy.

[Sven Johannsen]

I'm an old fart. I have Zunes, and have had digital music players over the years, but never really got excited about an unlimited pass sort of thing. I know what I like, I buy the album...um..the CD, and I rip it. I have purchased downloadable music, from Napster of all places, after they went legit, but always burned the tracks to an Audio CD, and sometimes re-ripped. Good thing too, as several tracks were 'discontinued' and the DRM wouldn't let me play the original versions. Done it again recently from the Zune store, for tracks where I really liked the one track, but wasn't that excited about the rest of the album, uh CD. I could see myself buying a CDs worth of tunes a month...heck I buy a CD a month now, on average.

So, this is sounding like a pretty decent deal. $10 a month to keep songs I really like, rather than buying a CD with a good number i don't, and $5 a month to find stuff I didn't know I liked. I'm tempted. Now if they would offer a $150 year subscription (pay for 10 months, get two free) I think they would suck me in.

[Jason Dunn]

I have to say this is the kind of promo MS needs to do to sell Zunes, not lowering the price.

But why not both? What's wrong with a lower price point? Nada.

[Jason Dunn]

Not to get really into that whole subject again but there is a huge thing about the $99.99 price point. There's a lot of market research into that price point being a sweet spot for the whole "Impulse Buy" thing.

That's a really great point - that $99 price point is a sweet spot that consumers have a natural reaction to.

[Jason Dunn]

On the surface this seems like a great deal, but I checked around the marketplace and I was hard pressed to find popular songs that came in the MP3 format.

I completely agree with you - a DRM'd WMA file is not a song you can keep as long as someone somewhere can turn off a DRM server and take your music away from you. I found some music I wanted in MP3 format, but a lot of the bands I was looking at didn't have MP3s available. I hope MS keeps pushing and pushing the labels to give them MP3s.