Microsoft has significantly updated their Zune Marketplace. First, there are now 1 million digital rights management (DRM)-free MP3s. These songs can be played on your Zune or other media player.
At Zune Social users will be able to create a customizable Zune Card that automatically updates to reflect the music they are listening to on their Zune or with Zune software on their computer. The Card shows the most recently played tracks and highlights the member’s all-time music favorites. Additionally, other Zune Social members can play samples of the songs a user has been playing directly from a friend’s Zune Card or link to Zune Marketplace where they can buy or download music.
The future of the Zune Social is to be able to share what you are listening to on popular social network sites like MySpace.com.
Discuss this in the forum here.
I read recently that 70% of all Zune users surveyed stated that they would give up their Zune Player to purchase the new iPhone. I am not sure how accurate the survey is or who conducted it, but I am sure some of it is true. Having said that, there are some great used zunes on Ebay’s Zune Page. Getting a used Zune may be a great way to get your first Zune player or buy one for your child or other family/friends. If you feel charitable get one for me!
There was allot of hoo bra about Microsoft making a deal with Universal Music a few months ago. However, in recent news, Universal Music has come out saying they refuse to renew their contract with Apple iTunes. Universal has said nothing about dropping Zune, there for looks like unless Jobs and co make nice with the Universal Music people, the worlds largest record companies catalog might soon only be found on the Zune MarketPlace.
For all you Beattle fans out there, I know your there! Here is some pretty good news, if you have a ZuneMarketPlace subscription be prepared to do allot of downloading. EMI has released McCartney’s back catalog, digitally, which is almost 40 albums! Its currently available on Zune MarketPlace and a few other music downloading services. Except probably the biggest one, good old iTunes. However, good chance its just running a bit late and will also be out on iTunes in the weeks to come.
So what songs/albums are you going to be downloading?
I have had an Xbox 360 since they came out in Aus, and I am really happy with it, games are great, UI is awesome and last night it just got a bit better with the Spring update. The main thing added here for me was the .mov file support, meaning all the podcasts that I get downloaded now get get streamed directly to my 360. The Xbox is really becoming the entertainment living room hub.
What does this have to do with the Zune? Well people have long wanted to know when the Zune MarketPlace will have video downloads of TV shows and movies (like iTunes). The word out there is that Microsoft is looking at integrating the Zune MarketPlace in the Xbox 360 eco-system as well as adding video downloading support. What this means is that you can be sitting on you couch playing Xbox, go over to the MarketPlace section in the 360 and download some TV shows and maybe some music, then watch or listen to them on the Xbox. Later that day your at your PC and the content downloaded on your Xbox are now on your PC ready to be synced with the Zune.
I really think this would be a great sign of things to come, the Xbox is really taking leaps an bounds over the Apple TV and PS3 and adding this integrated feature will just put it that much further in front of the competition, and in doing so bring the Zune up along side with it. As with those two (Zune and 360) combined together, you really do have a media hub.
““Never say never, but customers don’t seem to be interested in it,” Jobs told Reuters in an interview after Apple reported blow-out quarterly results. “The subscription model has failed so far.”
One big thing between iTune and Zune MarketPlace is the subscription service. Paying $14.99 a month for all you want music sounds pretty good to me, as $15 a month really isnt that much. While Jobs thinks people like the iTunes model of paying 99cents per song. So the question I would love to know, but unfortunately could not dig up any info on it is how many users are opting for subscription service and how many just buy 1 song at a time from the Zune MarketPlace. If any one knows this info, would be great to know.
So next best thing is to put the question out there, do you guys prefer subscription service on the Zune MarketPlace? or do you just buy one song at a time as you go? Leave a comment and let us know.
Update: After reading over the comments from you guys, Xhyra brings up a really good point.
The problem I’ve noticed with the “subscription� aspect of Zune store is the fact that you have to keep paying that 15 bucks a month to play all those songs you bought the previous month. If you’re the type of person who constantly swaps out their music library then this wouldn’t seem so bad, but in the long run it will cost you a lot more money than to just simply buy the album itself.
I really thinks thats spot on. People like me, who usually change music all the time ( I usually do not like the same music I did say, 6 months ago) would really love the subscription service. While hard core music lovers who like to keep all their music would be best off with just buying the song.
So really in conclusion, both options are geared more towards different user types, and both seem to be doing a good job of pleasing them. Which is why I think Jobs is wrong here, assuming that every one is the one type of music fan, when there are not.
 So thanks Xhyra an every one else for the comments and letting us know what you think.
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Microsoft may make the Zune less of an iPod competitor and more of an iTunes competitor. They may follow the lead that cell phone companies have been using for ages, free [or discounted] phone with the purchase of a contract (typically for 2 years). This will ultimately be the same way that the iPhone will be cheaper to buy from Cingular, but in this case you pay the fee for the music and the contract is with Microsoft.
Speculation has begun from a comment made by Zune marketing director Jason Reindorp. He stated that they were looking at a Zune Pass subscription that is like a cell phone contract. The model has worked very well for the cell phone industry, so why not for the MP3 marketplace?
It’s quite a good concept because it really would bring in more customers. Most people don’t really use the WiFi functionality of the Zune, so that really isn’t a killer app. However, the concept of being able to download all your music and get a Zune music player for a fixed price, well that sounds pretty good for the average joe.
The only thing they need to do though is keep the price point of the device at the same point. This would be disaster for Apple, because would you rather buy an MP3 player (iPod) or a 2-year subscription with a Zune for the same price? Some would call this a VERY smart move. Let’s see how it goes.
