“Universal Music boss Doug Morris may be grinning from ear to ear on the royalty deal his company has struck with Microsoft on the sale of Zune players. However, if as suggested in a Reuters report he expects to do a similar deal with Apple on the sale of iPods, he must be dreaming,” Stan Beer writes for iTWire.
“The strategy of Microsoft by complying with music industry demands for a cut on Zune sales is obviously to try and drive a wedge between the industry and Apple,” Beer writes.
Beer writes, “Jobs and Apple have already done the hard yards and sold billions of online music tracks through iTunes all over the world, while Zune Marketplace has sold next to nothing in its only market the US. That’s why the combined might of Universal and its fellow music industry heavyweights were simply crushed by Jobs when they tried to get Apple to change its pricing model in their last round of negotiations… The clear message for Doug Morris and Universal is that their best bet of getting a piece of the action on iPod sales is to buy some Apple shares.”
Full article here.
Related articles:
Universal CEO Morris wants iPod royalty fee from Apple – November 28, 2006
Microsoft’s Zune selling like snotcakes – November 15, 2006
Universal Music Group CEO calls iPod users thieves – November 11, 2006
Following Zune deal, Universal expected to demand iPod royalties from Apple – November 10, 2006
Microsoft to pay Universal for every Zune sold – November 09, 2006
“Can anyone name any two groups that have a better track record of supporting the customer than Microsoft and the record labels?”
Ya, I can. The record labels have done dick-all for me, and as for Microsoft, my XP gummed up…again…and now I had to reinstall. The only problem is, now it won’t let me activate because it’s been installed ‘too many times.’ It says to call Microsoft and get a new code. When I call I get interogated like a criminal, and then told that they can’t help me. What kind of shoddy service is that!? Somebody at Microsoft really needs to pull their head out of their a$$. Although Zune Tang would probably run stick his up it as soon as it was open. Screw Microsoft!
“Can anyone name any two groups that have a better track record of supporting the customer than Microsoft and the record labels?”
Ya, I can. The record labels have done dick-all for me, and as for Microsoft, my XP gummed up…again…and now I had to reinstall. The only problem is, now it won’t let me activate because it’s been installed ‘too many times.’ It says to call Microsoft and get a new code. When I call I get interogated like a criminal, and then told that they can’t help me. What kind of shoddy service is that!? Somebody at Microsoft really needs to pull their head out of their a$$. Although Zune Tang would probably run stick his up it as soon as it was open. Screw Microsoft!
“Can anyone name any two groups that have a better track record of supporting the customer than Microsoft and the record labels?”
Ya, I can. The record labels have done dick-all for me, and as for Microsoft, my XP gummed up…again…and now I had to reinstall. The only problem is, now it won’t let me activate because it’s been installed ‘too many times.’ It says to call Microsoft and get a new code. When I call I get interogated like a criminal, and then told that they can’t help me. What kind of shoddy service is that!? Somebody at Microsoft really needs to pull their head out of their a$$. Although Zune Tang would probably run stick his up it as soon as it was open. Screw Microsoft!
Microsoft reminds me of the kid that either has to have the fun or ruin the other persons fun. All they do is either try to buy the market, or ruin for whoever is making the money in that market.
zune tang is to an M$ fan boy, as Colbert is to Bill O’Reilly. And like Colbert, tons of laughs!
has anyone noticed on the zune site-zune.net that when you click on a page, it has that white thing that looks like some sort of “progress indicator” and the last thing you can click on is “support”-meaning no matter what you do, youll end up having to contact support?
Zune Tang must be an IT worker who has to side with MSFT to keep his job.
He can buy a Dell Ditty (or Shitty or I couldn’t remember whatever) instead.
This request fall on the backs of M$ and their need to f–k up every market they come across.
To put it another way, Zuma is hard at work doing just what it was designed to do – f–k up the market for the market leaders – i.e Apple!
M$’s attitude is – if I can’t play in your sandbox, then I pee in yours – so you can’t play in it either!
It boils down to a lot of crap on the part of M$ – which sucks!
I’ve now convinced that Zune Tang works for C|Net…it appears he must have written the piece that got picked up by MDN yesterday…which is why there is comment from him on that thread…
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NO comment
NO comment from Zune Tang on yesterday’s C|Net thread. Last time I checked, at least…
For all long time MDN readers, I submit the following:
Zune Tang — The return of Sputnik!
Universal stands to make all of five bucks in royalties based on the Zune sales numbers.
this guy is a parasite…
i have no idea how he had the nerves to ask for that?
OK you guys, time to make it CLEAR. Zune Tang is the Stephen Colbert of MDN . That is why he is so much fun!
They are looking for something new because the old system is dying. If he or someone else was smart, they’d restructure their system and modernize somehow. If anything, they should add some value to the songs. Make the albums worth buying, not just singles.
I’d buy more albums if they came with extras. PDFs, video. These items are already produced under the old system and don’t exactly seem to drain the bank account for them. Instead, they want to charge more for less. That’s ridiculous and bad business. It’s always about added value. In time, some young whipper-snapper will come along and make them realize that more is more and that they should embrace downloads wholeheartedly. The first one who does is going to make a windfall.
Universal– listening…?
It seems like they’re envious about iPods success. They also think iPod’s success is due to them. What they don’t see is that if it weren’t for iPod, the only story would be their continued decline to sharing, despite their best attempts to sue 14 year olds.
oops I just read tune zang’s post. So clearly others do see Zune Tang’s approach. I hope he doesn’t stop though.
I just checked my iTunes to see how many songs I’ve downloaded from the store vs. how many songs that I’ve ripped from my previously purchased CD’s.
Ripped from CD’s I’ve purchased: 1092
Downloaded from ITunes: 252
Total 1344
I’d say either way the music industry is getting their fare share from me.
Zune Tang is predictably repetitive and excruciatingly boring. He/she needs some new material.
I, however, am very fresh, insightful and interesting. Always. And I’m smart. Really, really smart. Who wants to argue with me so I can show you how smart I am? I’ll warn you in advance that I went to college.
You can be sure that people who fabricate posts using other people’s names only confirm that they are genuine halfwits and bona fide cretins. I can change my name, but you can’t change my opinion. I win, you lose.
>Dudes, Zune Tang’s posts are tongue-in-cheek.>
He needs to put his tongue just to the left of the right cheek.
I’ll warn you in advance that I went to college.
Did you graduate?
… beauty school dropout…
Zune Tang® is an inveterate satirist.
If he does, in fact, work for the evil empire, then M$ is too dumb to recognize his camouflage, espionage, and verbal sabotage, undermining from within. M$ takes what he writes as unqualified flattery, and he gets to keep his job.
In the dark, though, behind closed doors… ZT® uses an iPod.
You see, it’s all good.
Universal isn’t making enough money from digital sales so they want a piece of the hardware business without adding any value to the hardware. The possiblity of someone ripping off music is “costing” Unversal sales.
If Universal wants a royalty on the iPod from Steve, then Steve should ask for a royality on CD sales because CD sales are cutting into Steve’s ITS sales when folks rip the CD instead of buying on ITS.
Sounds fair.
Huh? phrased it perfectly about Zune Tang being repetitive and boring. I also suspect whoever this isiot is (sputnik whatever) also writes those anonymus posts indicating how great and witty and blah blah blah. No one here is THAT stupid to like him.