[hogposh]

Actually, the 10 free songs you get to keep per month are DRM-free. I just bought the Zune Pass because I am not a fan of iTunes. iTunes is clunky on Windows and not intuitive to use on my MacBook. I just don't get the fascination with iTunes.

[Interestedparty]

I hope these ads goad aple into entering and perfecting the subscription model - I will be there in a heart beat.

It totally blows away purchasing - with apple doing some technology enhancement on the DRM it will be a seemelss system. For example if I pay annually - I should not need to reconnect every 30 days to synch - how about making that fix rhapsody. Apple will gobble up all the others customers (rhapsody,napster, zune, etc) and enhance the value of their current customers.





With the Ipod and Iphone base out there - they could easily get 100 Million subscribers at $12-$15 per month, within 2 years - and I may be short selling them on the potential volume worldwide. That is a ridiculous revenue stream - and it is hooked ala a gym membership. They could probably do tie ins with Universities as well - get them all paying versus pirating (I think I recall napster or rhapsody doing this - but without the widespread appeal of the Ipod/Iphone it wouldn't matter).


Even if the margin is just $2 out of that $15, apple has an extra 2.4 Billion in earnings.


It's a no brainer - Jobs is just stubborn and hates to admit his way is not the only way or to change his mind - maybe the new guy will stick and turn loose this revenue stream for Apple and it's shareholders - as well as the legions of Ipod owners who will not want to go back once they have a subscription.


And hey if they don't like the subscription model - don't subscribe - purchase one-off as you have in the past -just shut up about nobody wanting it or the model not working - because people do love it, it does work, and Apple could make it even better.

Message was edited by: Interestedparty - wow my spelling is awful without spellcheck.

This message was edited to remove profanity that is against Community Standards. Please refer to the Community Standards: http://www.pcworld.c...community.html.
Message was edited by: smax013

[madgrenadier]

What's the big deal? Everyone is getting so caught up in the 'mine is better than yours'. The simple fact is that the zune pass appeals to a different audience than the purchase only deal. I'll give you my example:

I'm very busy professional with two small kids at home who pretty much fill up my time when I'm at home and they are awake. Other than that, my time is spend doing other necessary things like household cleaning, admin, mail, bills, etc. That doesn't leave a lot of time for shopping for music, either by CD or purchase online. I never had a huge CD collecition like some of you seem to, and I really don't care to go out and hunt for the music I want on the nether market of file sharing, because I don't have the time to fiddle with clients, downloads, etc.

In my case, the Zune pass gives me access to a very large library of music for a modest fee, and I can quickly suck in 5-10 discs I think I might like and listen to them while I work. If I hate them, no big deal, delete, and go get more. And if there are any tracks I really like, I use my 10 track quota and get them. That's something that iTunes cannot do. And as far as the players go, the big screen of the Zunes is far more pleasurable to view cover art and videos on that the ipod classic line. And let's not compare the ipod touch, that's in a class by itself. For one thing they touchs don't have much capacity compared to the current zunes and ipod classics.

I also like that I can 'surf' for music and try out a new album or two via wifi streaming in bed before sleeping WITHOUT having to go to my computer. No ipod classic can do that. I'm not sure a touch can either. Simply put, I spend more of my time LISTENING to music rather than finding it, downloading it and ripping it (all of which I've done, know very well how to).

So for someone like me without a huge CD collection to rip, and not much spare time, what's left?

Think about it. It works for me, and I suspect if more people actually use such a service, they might find they'd like it. A lot. Whether it be a Zune or not.

Mind you, I'm no Microsoft fanboy (I am banging this out on firefox running on Ubuntu, so there), but I will say that the Zune pass/Zune combo is better and more convenient than you think, and it really works for me. I can easily spare the $15 a month, but I cannot spare the time to go research the music I might want before I buy it.

Just my own observations. You find what works for you, but it doesn't mean it will work for someone else.

--MG!

[madgrenadier]

Filling up a 120GB player with music would be a stretch. But throw video into the mix and suddenly 120GB isn't that much at all.

My Zune30 is still chugging along, but I do have to pick and choose which movies to put on the thing.

--MG!

[fenderprecision]

I agree 100% with Interestedparty. I'm a 2 year subscriber to Rhapsody, and there are a lot of things I love about it. But the ipod, itunes store, and software are superior and if itunes were to go to a subscription service at less than $20 a month I would jump on it. I currently have an 8gb sony walkman and it is the next best thing to the ipod, but the ipod is slightly better. I also have a 4gb ipod for some of my cd collection and will probably get a 120gb classic (or maybe the Zune if I like it...) for the rest of my cd collection and finally put it in the computer. I think $1 per song is too much when you don't get a hardcopy/cd. Most of my cd collection is made of used cds that cost me $7 for 14 songs or more or 50 cents. I don't want to pay $1 for a single song file. I also like to listen to lots of new music, probably 50 cds a year. That's $500 as opposed to $170 for Rhapsody. Let's say then I decide to buy cds of my top 10 albums of the year. That's going to add $100 so $270. I got to listen to all that music all year and still bought cds of my favorites. But honestly, I buy maybe 2 - 5 cds a year now, compared to the 50 I used to buy. And unlike all of you that do peer to peer, the artists get paid for every time I play their songs.

[Matt2624]

Bring on a new Zune! Microsoft products rock!!

[wrathforger]

the twitter thing was a fake. that has been confirmed.
http://www.engadget....ed-zune-rumors/

[coolbreeze2444]

I certainly didn't pay $30,000 to fill my iPod. I already owned over 500 CD's by the time I bought my first iPod. Even if I only took 3 or 4 songs from each CD, there's a mighty good start on filling that iPod at no extra cost to me. And, of course, there are movies on my iPod, as well, and also a pretty big photo album. Also, I have lots of podcasts, all of which are free. Technically, yes, the ad is correct, but in real life, it's a totally ridiculous argument. Also, when you "rent" music you're very limited in what you can do with it. When you own the music, you can put it on multiple devices to enjoy it any way you want to.

[madgrenadier]

How many people actually have 500 CDs already in their collection? I don't know what the average is, but I doubt it's 500 per person.

Again, subscription plans are best for those who do not have and don't plan on having (for whatever reason, probably $$$) a huge CD collection. The target audience is different.

I'll deal with subscribing to get 'general' music (and just-see-if-I-like-it music) and save my $$$ to buy the CDs I really really like and want to own. But it sure won't be 500 of them.

--MG!

[fenderprecision]

The average person doesn't have 100 cds let alone 500. The average person isn't likely to subscribe to Rhapsody or Zune either. It's for music FANS who want to expand their horizons without paying $15 - $20 for cds they've never heard. I started buying cds over 20 years ago and rarely sell them, so 1000 is not that many for someone like me, obsessed with 1960s/70s rock and 1980s alternative, and 1990s britpop, and new music that tries to expand on those genres. Throw in some live bootleg stuff, add a healthy mix of Jazz and Classical and 1000 isn't that much. Sometimes it's just easier for me to download a cd I own via Rhapsody than to go get the cd and do it. But ultimately, I know my summer project needs to be getting all my favorites onto the computer as well as to weed out a good 100 of the ones I haven't listened to in 5 years or more... But it's hard to say goodbye.