Idolator
NBC may be holding back its TV shows from the iTunes Store, but it's more than happy to put them on the less-trafficked Zune Marketplace. (There's no doubt some "let's keep punishing Apple" corporate logic behind this; I hope to see it laid out on an upcoming 30 Rock episode.) Also, Zune is introducing a "sharing" feature that smells to me more like a "recommendation" feature. See if you feel the same way! Zune users can access friends' nine most recently played songs and nine favorite songs. But! In order to get said songs they first have to sign up for a $14.99-a-month ZunePass, which offers unlimited access to "a library of millions of tracks." So they'd have access to the songs anyway. Right? Am I missing something, or is this all supposed to make sense in the same way that Deal Or No Deal does, i.e. not at all? [WSJ]
Comments
How does a game of chance masquerading as a game of skill not make sense? It was good enough to build an oasis in the desert.
This, on the other hand... You'd think they'd at least wait a few days after giving their customers the finger by dropping support for PlaysForSure before introducing this new subscription model.
I find it incredible that both The Zune and MSNBC continue to exist.
Hmm... interesting. Well, two things:
1. I'd love to be able to download FULL TRACKS of my friends' songs onto my iPod through something like Last FM (esp. since we all have iPods) - which is basically what the Zune Pass seems to do. It'd sure beat me emailing my friends new songs or pointing them to an mp3 blog. I guess it depends on how much you trust your friend's recommendations. I'm lucky to have a BFF with excellent taste! :)
2. What does it matter to you if NBC leaves iTunes? THIS IS A MUSIC SITE! I'm starting to wonder if a certain fruit-flavored company (aka my awesome former-boss) is giving you a tiny profit whenever you boast about their product/beat up on other media players. Seriously.
@DW: The Zune Pass is a subscription site. It seems like you are getting *access* to the songs but not the ability to *download* them. I have many BFFs with excellent tastes, too, but I don't have to pay a third party $15 a month in order to enjoy said BFFs' tastes.
And NBC matters to me because I like TV, too. Jeez, someone is getting a little uppity about an editorial purview that isn't theirs!
@Maura Johnston: Whoa! Sheathe your knives, Soldier! I didn't mean to offend! Yep, I know Zune Pass is subscription service (not "site") and DRM-ed through the roof. My point is that if Last.fm offered the ability to take full unlimited songs with me on my iPod, as Zune Pass does for Zunes, then I'd gladly pay $15/month for it. Even if those songs go away when I end my subscription.
Apple would be very wise to implement a sharing/recommendation feature into iTunes, since they have the lion's share of the market. It'd help me connect with me my pals across the country and share music easier.
And how could you not expect me to be uppity? This is Idolator, isn't it? :)
Comment on this post
Reply by EmailLogin with your username and password below. Or comment on this post via email.
Forgot your username or password? New User?