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What Microsoft *should* Have Done With Zune

When we all first heard aboutwhich limits three plays or three days.
Microsoft's Zune -- it sounded like aNow, If it was me. I would have even
decent contender for an Apple iPodallowed Zune music to be shared with no
competitor. Big screen, video, pictures,restrictions. But I am a communist.
wireless sharing of music plus rewardsI am also a realist. Microsoft needed to
for people sharing music. It soundedkeep the record labels happy. However,
like it was to good to be true (or tothey could have easily done this by
good to be Microsoft). It sounded likerestricting the sharing of Zune
a big fat powerful idea.purchased music and allowing a free for
But reality and corporate trenches are aall with any other media.
bitch. Here is only some of what wentI think Microsoft knew this all along,
wrong.but failed at the negotiations table.
Pay Per Sale to UniversalSetting the Price to High
Despite what most thing, the decision toIf I was Microsoft (what I believe to be
pay Universal for each unit sold was aa smart modern organization), I would
relatively good strategic move. Thishave the knowledge that traditional
will force iTunes to renegotiate withmarketing is dead. All the money they
potentially different terms with thespent on TV advertising campaigns and
Major labels. ("If Microsoft did it,branding could have been much better
then so can you").spent.
However, take special note that givingThey did something right with paying
Universal a piece of the pie indicatedbloggers to speak Zune and promote
that both sides are in agreement thatcritique it. (This, is not a paid post).
there is a relatively large amount ofThey should have passed the marketing
piracy that happens on these devices.savings onto the customers. I would have
Therefore, the payment is basically apriced it quite below iPod ($50 dollars
levy in MP3 players which goes rightseems like a doable number minus a multi
into the labels pocket.million dollar advertising campaign).
WirelessCombined with wicked sharing
Seth Godin has clearly demonstrated, infunctionality, this would have been a
his book The Purple Cow that for alow market disruption that could have
product to be popular, it must bechanged the world.
remarkable in some way. The wirelessSadly, many MP3's from SanDisk and
feature was it for Microsoft, but herecreative seem to be on par with this
is where they botched the job.initial Zune.
Here is what they should have done,No Podcast Support
since they already agreed to pay for thePodcasting is essential. I use my iPod
piracy subsidy. It should have been ato stay updated with News and the
free for all. Let people sharegoing-ons of Silicon Valley. I plug in
everything that wasn't purchased frommy iPod, it updates my podcasts
the Zune store. Let them trade video,automagically, and I listen to them at
audio, text, ebooks, cracks, patches,the gym. I won't buy a Zune because of
everything. Publish an API and letthe inconvenience of this lack of a
people build applications on it. Make itfeature.
every nerds dream.There inability to have a backbone at
But they didn't did they? The realitythe negotiations table, the pointless
is, they basically made the wirelessadvertising campaign, the high cost, and
connection useless. Every file that youthe under utilization of the wireless
desire to share, regardless of whetherfunctionality will be the death of the
it came from the Zune store, or your ownfirst iteration of the Zune.
CDs is wrapped in a very restrictive DRM



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