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Why is Spotify so good? Because it starts from iTunes and improves it. It is like Apple, but better (except that is not yet available in USA). Why is the Zune a bad experience? Because it is not at all like iTunes. Like it or not Apple is the standard in music. Just as the whole world has been educated to use Windows, and a few to use Mac and Linux, in music, the whole world is educated to use iTunes, and a few to experiment with the alternatives. So Spotify built a great platform that is intuitive to use. It is like iTunes, but the songs are free and the Genius is your friends. Huge success. But Zune is just…. obscure. I try most WiFi gadgets, and this afternoon I spent a couple of hours trying a Zune out. My rating is 2 stars (sorry to use Apple again). The Zune is beautiful as a device, the graphics are attractive, original, but it is incredibly slow to load songs, the monthly costs at $15 are out of the market, and using the Zune software which is, not surprisingly, only available for Windows, is too complicated. I guess Microsoft has a hard time admitting that if you enter the music field you have to be like iTunes but better, which also means to start looking kind of like iTunes. It is hard for people to learn another language. Apple should know that, they have a better product than Microsoft Windows in OSX and market share gains are slow mainly because people are afraid to change. If I had anything to do with Zune, I would leave the gadget as it is and would do a new version of the software that is more intuitive, more like iTunes, that allows you to import your lists from iTunes, that basically clones iTunes as Doubletwist does. Or wait! Maybe Microsoft should buy Doubletwist and make it work with the Zune.
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No Comments
hoblap on May 27, 2010 ·
By far, Spotify is the the best, because is FREE and LEGAL.
I feel pity of people who do not have access to Spotity, like USA ;-(
antoin O Lachtnain on May 31, 2010 ·
Although Spotify is legal, it has the same moral problem as illegal file sharing – i.e., the artist gets paid nothing, or at best, hardly anything, for their talent and effort.
hoblap on May 31, 2010 ·
I don’t see a moral problem: Spotify pays to the editor, and the editor pays to the artist.
As far as I know. I don’t know of any artist’s complaint.
sewa mobil on June 3, 2010 ·
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cheap nike sb dunks on June 7, 2010 ·
the artist gets paid nothing, or at best
antoin O Lachtnain on June 8, 2010 ·
The moral problem is that the artist gets paid sweet damn all. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/apr/13/spotify-songwriters
It is hard to put a finger on how much they pay out per play, but it seems to be extremely low.
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Stefan on May 25, 2010 ·
This is an overly-simplistic analysis (surprising given your otherwise thoughtful posts). What does it mean to be “more like iTunes”? To display songs in a list, one per line?
Maybe I’m the only one bought into the Zune marketing, but iTunes does feel like a spreadsheet. I’ve been very happy with the $15/month subscription (which iTunes doesn’t even offer) because I discovered a lot of new music. At parties I project the Zune player with the Now Playing animation on a wall and everyone digs it because of the cool graphics and effects.
Sounds to me like you’re very used to the iTunes experience and just having a hard time shifting into a different paradigm. Cheers!