News
Microsoft Zune ad claims $30,000 cost to fill iPod
Microsoft has posted a new Zune advertisement to YouTube, comparing the cost of the company’s Zune Pass subscription service to iTunes. Starring “Certified Financial Planner” Wes Moss, the ad goes on to suggest that it costs $30,000 to fill an iPod—with a black iPod classic shown as an example—while it costs only $15 a month to fill a Zune using the Zune Pass service. As the latest attempt by Microsoft to erode public interest in Apple’s hardware, the ad deliberately ignores the fact that music from users’ existing CD libraries can be loaded onto either company’s device at varying bitrates, but does underscore Apple’s continued lack of a subscription-based listening option for iTunes users. Continue reading to view the full advertisement.
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21
@Dale, still doesn’t much matter, the percentage of people who have spent that $30,000 over any period of time is a very small percentage. I’m 38, have been buying music for over 25 years, buy more music than the average schmoe, and I’m at maybe $8,000 spent on music so far. At my current rate of buying music, it will take me another 50 years to reach $30,000. If we consider concerts as spending money on music, fine, maybe another 30 years
There’s little need to try and explain the $30K figure away in the way you did - truth is that people are either filling their iPods with a lot of Archive.org material, or they’re filling their iPods with a lot of music the labels don’t believe they should be able to use. Subscriptions are, hypothetically, a way to bridge reality and label demands, that’s all there is to it.
The ad tries to be smart and fails because the vast majority of people out there have no problem filling their iPods without spending that much money over any period, and those who aren’t doing so are so small a minority as to have needed a much different angle to reach.
Posted by Code Monkey in Midstate New York on May 14, 2009 at 2:58 PM (PDT)
22
The other problem is that the ad doesn’t seem to factor in the point that in the current economic climate more and more people are shying away from monthly subscription-based services.
Even if I spend more than $180/year on music from CDs and the iTunes Store, I’m able to make those decisions on an as-needed basis (ie, when I know I actually have the money), rather than being forced into a yet-another-regular-monthly-payment. $15 may not seem like much to some, but the reality is that it’s still a monthly commitment that can’t easily be shrugged off when money gets tight.
Posted by Jesse Hollington in Toronto on May 15, 2009 at 11:58 AM (PDT)
23
Well i want to know if i can use zune to to download songs on my ipod???!!! bought an ipod and i am not just gonna throw it away!!! Also An iPod is portable. songs on my computer are not!!
Posted by arowl;ey on July 9, 2009 at 1:49 PM (PDT)
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