“Steve Jobs wants the music business to drop restrictions for digital tunes. But Microsoft, which began competing head to head with Apple in the digital music business last fall, is happy with the way things are, says media exec Robbie Bach,” Dan Frommer reports for Forbes.
Frommer reports, “On Tuesday, Apple chief Jobs suggested that the music industry stop forcing online music services like his iTunes to use software that restricts what people can do with the music they purchase, such as sharing it with friends.”
Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices division, spoke with Frommer and drops such gems as:
• Apple’s iPhone “doesn’t really change things for us in any fundamental way… Our view is that our strategy is more the correct one. People think, ‘Gosh, I need a device that works in my work style and my lifestyle,’ and the fact that we’re strong on the business side and have all the lifestyle capabilities like music, like video, like text messaging–all those kinds of things, we think give us a big competitive leg up.”
• Apple’s iPhone is “$500 and a two-year contract… But at that price point, the size of the market you’re going to reach is going to be relatively limited. That’s not a knock on Apple–they’re going to drive the price point down just like everybody else does. But most people would have said, ‘Hey, we’re not ready to have a $500 phone.’ When you look at something like a Motorola Q or a Samsung BlackJack or a T-Mobile Dash, you say ‘for a lot, lot less money, I can get that functionality today,’ and maybe that’s the direction more people will go.”
• Zune Phone? “Right now, I can tell you that the Zune team is really focused on producing great innovation in the music device space… I wouldn’t expect there to be much focus beyond what we’re trying to do in the core music space.”
• “Today’s Zune continues to sell well, and we’re continued to focus on things we can provide to those customers. Obviously the team is working on things for the future.”
More in the full article here.
We’ll save this for future use.
Related articles:
Buh-bye: Senior Zune exec exits Microsoft – January 31, 2007
Report: Microsoft Zune screens cracking from overheating battery pressure – January 31, 2007
Last quarter: Microsoft lost $289 million on Zune, CE devices – January 26, 2007
RealMoney’s Comeau predicts: ‘Microsoft will kill the first Zune media player by midyear’ – December 16, 2006
Desperation time? Microsoft Zune already being discounted by retailers – December 13, 2006
Microsoft Zune plummets to 5th place in U.S. digital media player market share with 2.1 percent – December 04, 2006
Analysts: Microsoft needs to ‘rethink’ as interest in Zune fades fast – December 01, 2006
Microsoft’s Steve Jobs-wannabe J Allard has 9 iPods and uses an Apple Mac – November 28, 2006
Amazon’s bestselling MP3 players list chronicles Microsoft Zune dud – November 20, 2006
yes…definitely save this for future use.
oooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo i’m first! but yes, this guy is going to eat his words..
Can I get some of what they’re smoking?
MDN MW: help LOL
Of course Microsoft would be against removing DRM. It might mean that people that use the Zune might prefer iTunes over the Zune marketplace.. Cant have that!
Microsoft is amazing. They are obviously in denial and can not see what is going on. They still think their monopolistic position will translate into success for a medicore product. That may have worked in the past, but things have changed.
Microsoft are like vacationers standing on the beach, looking out to sea, and wondering where all the water went.
…but maybe of interest to some:
Candlestick analysis of AAPL
MW: analysis!
“Today’s Zune continues to sell well, and we’re continued to focus on things we can provide to those customers. Obviously the team is working on things for the future.”
I like this corporate language. Let me translate it.
There is a lot of information so I will divide the text into smaller chunks.
“Today’s Zune continues to sell well…” means “Today’s Zune sales numbers are significantly lower than we expected, but we’ve sold some.” Selling well? It doesn’t get any worse than “well” in business slang.
“…and we’re continued to focus on things we can provide to those customers.” means “we don’t have a clue what do do with that mess so we continue to push the thing out of the doors and support those few unfortunate ones”.
“Obviously the team is working on things for the future.” means “We are desperatly looking for work someplace else, the sonner the better.”
What an avoider.
The World’s Smartest Man, His Highness The Lord of Apple, P. T. Barnum, Steven Jobs has spoken – actually he has written, but that’s just a detail.
DRM is over and that’s all there is to it.
Gentlemen: start your download engines, and share, share, share until your heart is content.
If you get any flak from the government or from the music industry (morons, right?) just refer them to Lord Jobs.
How I hate Microsoft speech. “Producing great innovation…”; their constant references to ‘experiences’ – it’s just so empty and vague.
Zune Tang where are you? Calling Zune Tang. Come out, come out wherever you are!
Where is Zune Tang hiding?
Has MDN has locked your posting name out? Good. Go somewhere else to play, jerk.
Way to keep that loser out, MDN.
the fact that we’re strong on the business side and have all the lifestyle capabilities like music, like video, like text messaging–all those kinds of things, we think give us a big competitive leg up.”
Looks like that’s worked out real well for you.
Does no one remember the original Star-Tac from Motorola? If I remember right I paid about $400.00 for one of the first ones out back in the mid 90’s. Nobody seemed to be complaining then and I don’t see that people will complain now.
Thes guys are just scared to death of what the iPhone will do to the market!
“Steve Jobs wants the music business to drop restrictions for digital tunes. But Microsoft, which began competing head to head with Apple in the digital music business last fall, is happy with the way things are, says media exec Robbie Bach”
Bach’s only question to the majors is, “how far MS should spread their legs?”
“Right now, I can tell you that the Zune team is really focused on producing great innovation in the music device space.”
Most employees spend their entire day in the bathroom trying to crap out a new “innovation”.
People think, ‘Gosh, I need a device that works in my work style and my lifestyle,’
Only an MS dweeb would use the word-“Gosh”.
I bet for every person thinking “Gosh, I need a device that works in my work style and my lifestyle”, there is at least one other one thinking “Golly gee, I want a device that is mine to personalize as a I like and does what I tell it to, not what my company tells it to do”
Zune phone slogan: Let us squirt in your ear!
“On Tuesday, Apple chief Jobs suggested that the music industry stop forcing online music services like his iTunes to use software that restricts what people can do with the music they purchase, such as sharing it with friends.”
I’ve re-read the open letter from Steve Jobs, and I can find no point where he suggests that removing DRM restrictions give consumers the right to share music downloads with friends. As far as i know, that file sharing is still illegal with or without DRM. I am sure Mr. Jobs would never endorse that sort of behavior (Don’t Steal Music).
That being said, I think the best way to fight piracy would be to lower the price of a music downloads while improving the delivered product — maybe 192kbps AAC @ 25¢ a song — so that there is little incentive to steal it. Given the choice, which option would you choose?…
Option A:
a) Buy your music for 25¢ per song
b) NO DRM
c) Increased bitrate to improve quality
d) Album Art included
e) Lyrics included
f) Accurate ID Tag Info
g) No Legal issues from RIAA (and their like)
Option B:
a) Steal your music
b) Waste your time weeding through all the poor quality variations you uncover
b) Waste some more time fixing all the inaccurate ID Tags
c) Waste even more time finding any applicable Album Art (’cause it’s never there)
d) Risk of legal action from RIAA (and their like)
I for one would always favor Option A because the price is right, and where i come from, “Time is Money”.
Imaging how many songs they would sell — there would be no reason not to buy versus steal.
My 2¢
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Do not know what all the fuss is about with the iPhone price tag, My first Phone was over 1000 british pounds, ($1700+or-) for a HUGE BRICK!!! in the 80s with if I remember correctly 1.5h Battery life
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> I have also paid 500 euros for a Blackberry (never again) and current phone iPaq 6915 a huge 725 euros and for a brick that has spent more time being fixed than used, thank god for Bootcamp, it now sits in the draw NOT IN USE as it is such a pain to use.and only is 2 months old. I only use it for the GPS NAV software when needed. so my point is, $500 is NOTHING for a Phone with iPod etc in one. it will be 500 euros here in Europe I am sure, but even then it is WELL worth the price tag. Nokia, euro trash makes and sell their phones for double that of the US and still sell phones in Europe like hot cakes.
So hold off on the price tag, as with what you get it is still VERY CHEAP and will see a larger than 1% market share here in europe. Nokia and the other euro mafia companies know this, and Microsoft are only coming out with this we have been planing a ZUNE phone thing, to make it look like they are not FOLLOWING APPLE AGAIN!!!!
“Today’s Zune continues to sell well.”
Define “well”… I’ve never seen one in real life…
Microsot deride the Mac because it has only 5-6% market share. in November Zune had 2% share, and while the Mac makes money for Apple, Microsoft lose money on every Zune.
“Zune debuted in second place in the $4 billion U.S. market for digital-music players during its first week on sale, according to market research firm NPD Group Inc. It then dropped to fifth place the following week.” http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a5G_U4Wv8fZU
The Zune may survive as a handheld gaming device, with music and video capability. But if MS continue to be late into the market with new features for Zune it will struggle to lift its market share.
MS may have lots of cash, but there is a limit to how long they can support a loss making Zune on top of all their other loss making enterprises like xBox and IE.
“you say ‘for a lot, lot less money, I can get that functionality today,’ “
Really?? I didn’t know you can get the functionality of a multitouch screen, OS X, an upgradable software interface for not just the phone, but for each current and future app, a built-in widescreen touchscreen iPod with touch Coverflow, choosable voicemail messages, auto landscape, auto button cutoff sensing, and just one actual button, instant photo slideshow with auto-rotate and auto-resize, one button 3 way conference calling, do I need etc…???
And for less money, really?? I must be so out of the loop…I didn’t know other devices had these features.
Perfect example today…I have been trying to call my mother’s cell phone…she accidently turned the volume down and couldn’t hear it ring…worried us sick.
“the fact that we’re strong on the business side and have all the lifestyle capabilities like music, like video, like text messaging–all those kinds of things, we think give us a big competitive leg up.”
Microsoft products give my DOG a comfortable leg up.
“Today’s Zune continues to sell well…”
wow…that’s pretty funny.
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“the Zune team is really focused on producing great innovation in the music device space… ”
They still can’t really get the hang of how to use that innovation word. Much less what it means.
I like eating my own boogers also…
…I wouldn’t expect there to be much focus beyond what we’re trying to do in the core music space…. [For example, we’ve already got Norway in the bag, and soon to follow will be….]
The NCC should address XP and Vista’s security performance, and should declare them illegal in Norway if they find they cause much grief to Norwegian consumers, such as System reinstalls, restarts, malware takeovers, work interruptions, hardware meltdowns…etc., etc., etc. The frustration caused by a Microsoft OS can actually damage your health. The finding should be along the lines of: Apple should license Mac OS X for every computer designed for Windows because OS X’s invulnerability to malware could give them an unfair advantage. Norwegian consumers demand fair play.
…I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine…
Bought Vista? Simply return it to your distributor and demand a refund.