“Napster has revealed that it’s planning an aggressive marketing campaign again Apple’s iPod as part of its plans for a full launch of the Napster To Go portable subscription service later this quarter,” Yinka Adegoke reports for New Media Age. “The service, which soft-launched in the US in November, is likely to roll out in the UK in March. It’s one of the first services enabled by Microsoft’s Janus technology, which for the first time allows music files bought via subscription services to be transferred from a PC to a portable device.”
Adegoke reports, “According to Napster CEO Chris Gorog, speaking to NMA at MidemNet this week, his company is betting heavily that the monthly ‘all you can eat’ subscription model will win the battle of the digital services, rather than the download strategy currently pursued by Apple’s iTunes, which has around 70% of legal download sales. He believes the best way to market the new service is to emphasise its advantages over iTunes. He’s particularly keen to highlight iTunes’ iPod-only compatibility. ‘We’re going to be communicating to people that it’s stupid to buy an iPod.'”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If you bought or are considering buying an iPod, you’re stupid and you should rent music from us instead? That’s Napster’s marketing concept? Is that the proper way for “the biggest brand in digital music” to act? Napster is doomed.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Report: Napster faces uphill fight to gain share, Apple prepared to run iTunes at a loss – February 10, 2005
Napster’s ‘iPodlessness’ doesn’t bode well for its future – February 10, 2005
$10,000 to fill an iPod? Napster’s going to end up with egg on their face – February 04, 2005
Why ‘Napster To Go’ will flop – February 03, 2005
Napster CEO: We’re ‘the biggest brand in digital music, much more exciting than Apple’s iTunes’ – February 03, 2005
“gorog”…
BAAAWAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAH
He just called 94% of the HD market consumers stupid?
That’s funny..
The correct take is: How much business will Napster get from people that Gorog just called stupid?
Exactly none. That’s already half of the market that he just gave up. He’s making the same mistakes as the liberals make in the senate.
This dude is a tool. you can’t insult the public and expect us to buy. I hate this guy. I feel insulted
This dude is a tool. you can’t insult the public and expect us to buy. I hate this guy. I feel insulted
Fear
Uncertainty
Doubt
The worst kind I’ve ever seen.
This is getting pathetic. If you want to compare the merits of your service versus a competitors…fine, but calling 10 million+ buyers stupid? Not cool.
Maybe they should find start making better ads rather than insult the competitions’ consumers.
Also (from the press release): “The campaign’s thrust is said to be part of an educational initiative supported by Microsoft and many key device manufacturers.“
“educational initiative”? More like FUD initiative.
One word describes this perfectly: “scared”.
That’s right, edd1e! Them smarty-pants libruls don’t like it when I try to ban the teaching of evo-lootion in my son’s classroom!
Magic word is “church”, as in no separation between it and state!
Guess he’s learning from the Macintosh community.
Sorry, couldn’t let this pass.
you know, one of the things i have learned since the web became popular is how many idiots there are out there. i just never imagined there could be that many “journalists”, business “leaders”, etc. that just don’t have a clue. also, if people like this gorog person can be a ceo, then the u.s. economy is in pretty good shape because it is apparently providing jobs for practically ANYONE with a pulse.
Me Gorog. Me going to destroy iPod. Oh no, Me no match for iPod…Me destroyed by iPod…….
F*ck you Heroin, just because someone isn’t a liberal doesn’t mean they’re stupid. You should be more open minded and sensitive toward others than that. That is what liberals claim to be anyway after all isn’t it? Hypocrite.
Gorog. What an idiot. Are you keeding me? What kind of moron does it take to get into bed even DEEPER with Microsoft? You’ve got to be joking. Looks like Microsoft’s technology should be re-named ‘Anus’, since that’s the type of people it’s attracting.
What an anus-hole.
Sadly, Gorog has risen to the level of his incompetence. Too bad it means he will take down an entire company with it… then again, maybe not. Wonder how long it’ll be before the job websites start seeing an increase in Napster employees seeking a new job…
And, like rubbernecking at an accident on the freeway (which is just flat annoying and needlessly slows down traffic, IMO), I can’t wait to hear Gorog’s next take on that “it’s stupid to buy an iPod” line. My guess is it will be a doozy!
“BETTING HEAVILY”
Yea because if they don’t suddenly get a zillion subscribers they are going out of buisness. Selling music online doesn’t make any money, selling subscriptions is even worse.
1: Customers who are tech savy are going to either pay for their music or download it for free via p2p networks.
2: Those who have the money to buy a device most likely already have a cd collection already.
3: Nobody is going to like to require peroidic hookups to their computer, they are not going to like to have to wait while 10,000 songs are re-downloaded either.
4: The first time XP crashes and/or requires a fresh install will annoy the subscription user.
5:The tech savy theif will download all the music and record it with another computer or device, mass theft.
Owning the music is best, most don’t need 10,000 songs, a lot like to build their collection. It’s a personal thing.
Napster is doomed.
This spiral down the toilet, though much more drawn out, is eerily reminicent of the Buymusic.com abomination.
If my intent is to usurp the DRM, then yes, the Napster rent model is superior. I could subscribe for a month or three, download to my heart’s content, rip a mess of CDs then cancel my subscription.
It reminds me of the old “get 10 LPs for 1 cent” Columbia House program, except I don’t have to purchase seven albums at regular price.
Wow, this guy just called all the people who are most likely to buy an MP3 player (the ones who have proven they are into it by already buying one) stupid? This is a marketing stategy? “Oh you are so studid!! Why did you buy that??? Well anyway, get your stupid ass over here and switch to our service.”
I just realized while writing this that we should be careful to be gentle with current PC users. Most of them just didn’t have enough information when they chose a PC and so just did what everyone else was doing. We have to make sure we let them save face when they switch or add a Mac.
And so the delusions continue. He really believes people will choose their players based on which service they work with. The vast majority of people buy players first, then use a download service as an afterthought. Folks will not buy a crummy, ugly iPod wannabe just because it works with Napster. People don’t give a damn that it works with Napster.
Say, am I mistaken, or isn’t Napster still a web-based store? A web-based store is unlikely to put up any serious resistance to the integrated application of iTunes, which is much easier to use.
Hey, the magic word is “wife”! Appropriate, because I’m buying mine an iPod with my bonus money from work. And I’m sure she’s just crushed that it won’t with Napster.
anyone has the archive for the full article at NMA?
I don’t even own an iPod (YET!!) and I use iTunes exclusively as my music manager because it’s the best jukebox I’ve tried in all my years of playing music on my computers (windows & Mac). When I do get an iPod, my experiences will only get better.
My word of the evening is “room”, which there is plenty of in the music & mp3 markets, it’s just sad to see how the competition is going about trying to compete.
The epitome of marketing stupidity:
First call them stupid, then convince them of buying from you.
P.S. : I laughed so hard I actually peed in my pants. What a fu–ing idiot!
I am soooo looking forward to Napster going down for the count and sleeping in the dirt. They cannot seem to conceive that people don’t want to rent their music. But they love the idea for themselves because it’s the only way for them to, theoretically, make money from online music downloads without having a player being sold along with it.
These are the best days to be a Mac user. I can almost hear the paradigm shifting…
Here’s something even more stupid:
Buying a subscription from a company going out of business.
Rent or buy, take your pick. But buying into the Napster family is moronic. They have less than 12 months worth of cash, and are basically gambling with your money.
And THAT, I assure you, is stupid.
Just announced, the newest addition to the iPod family:
iMplant
http://www.bbspot.com/News/2005/01/new_ipod_implant.html
Wow, I didn’t want to buy a pc, or a windows compatible player before, and I sure didn’t want to use napster to rent my music by the month, but that Gorog, he is a persuasive fellow.
I guess I just didn’t realize I was so stupid for buying an iPod mini. And dumb ‘ole me, I filled it wrong because I only spent about $20 at iTMS (not the $1000 napster assured me it would cost) and filled the balance with music I already owned.
I’m just glad Gorog pointed out to me how stupid I am. Maybe I’m not stupid, maybe I just miss things that are obvious (I must admit I didn’t know that napster is the biggest brand in digital music, but it must be because Gorog said so and he never says crazy, off-the-wall, WTF crap, right?).
I must be some special kind of stupid because not only did I buy three iPods, I love using them too.
~M