Jupiter Research has done some prognosticatin' and come to the conclusion that digital sales are going to keep on growing. In fact, if predictions hold true, digital sales will grow at a compounded rate of 16% per year, to a total of 2.5 billion dollars, or just over 22% of total US consumer spending on music....
Aw, keep trying little buckaroo! C|Net reports that the Zune hasn't cracked the top ten portable music players, although it has captured a "decent slice" of the hard drive based player market in big box retail stores.
The overall top ten is overwhelmingly Apple, with 8 of the top ten slots occupied by fruit etched media devices, Sandisk's Sansa models round out the rest of the ten. For what it's worth,...
If you weigh the anecdotal evidence, Microsoft's Zune didn't have a very merry Christmas. Failing to make Amazon's top sellers list at any point during the holiday season, the Zune trailed far behind Apple's iPod, several models of which held top spots at various points.
According to TechWeb "During the holiday season, Zune was seldom seen among the top 10 consumer electronics on Amazon. Microsoft, however, says sales have met its internal forecasts,...
Burton'esque Zune ad demonstrates sharing, as it should be
This totally cute new Zune ad does an admirable job of explaining the concept behind sharing music. Ok, so, the cookie doesn't lock itself from use after 3 days or 3 plays but, the idea presented is pretty noble.
When UMG forced Microsoft's hand and extorted gained a deal to get $1 per Zune sold as compensation for what UMG CEO Doug Morris calls "a repository for stolen music", it became a widely held belief that UMG beat Microsoft at the negotiating table. Microsoft, just days away from the Zune's launch _needed_ UMG's extensive...
The always insightful and often controversial David Chartier has been doing some thinking lately, "about the more significant aspects of the Zune, such as what it means (and could mean) to the market and the culture of the industry."
What Chartier has come up with is a six-point plan to fix Zune for its second roll-out. I'll let you read his detailed explanations at our sister blog TUAW but, his points make total sense:
Universal's CEO Doug Morris gave an interview to Reuters about UMG's strong-arm strategies in which he explains to the press how he understands piracy, and was once on the wrong end of the law himself. "When I was at college I used to jimmy the phones and make a long distance call. All my friends would do the same thing so, I get it", Morris quips.
The Register has a great op-ed piece by Steve Gordon on what, if anything, artists can expect to see in their pockets as a result of Microsoft's payment of $1 per Zune as a sort of piracy tax to Universal Records and its evil henchman CEO Doug Morris. It's one thing when the non-music business public is up in arms about some boneheaded move by the record labels, it's quite another when that voice comes from an...
DVD Jon Johansen is getting lots of attention (again) these days. After successfully taking on and taking down the encryption used to "protect" DVD content from the prying eyes and inventive uses of the DVD consumer, Jon has set his sights on Apple's FairPlay DRM. Jon's new company DoubleTwist is preparing to offer software to allow other content providers to encrypt their content in the same way that content from...
A little more than a week into Zune the launch hype is wearing off and the reality hangover is starting to set in. When Zune was in pre-release and being shopped around to bloggers, Glenn Coolfer got a sneak peak. What the sneak peak bloggers didn't get was a preview of the Zune points system and, now that Zune is in full swing, the fans of Zune points are few and far between.
Jupiter Research has done some 
Aw, keep trying little buckaroo! 
If you weigh the anecdotal evidence, Microsoft's Zune didn't have a very merry Christmas. Failing to make Amazon's top sellers list at any point during the holiday season, the Zune trailed far behind Apple's iPod, several models of which held top spots at various points. 
The always insightful and often controversial 
Universal's CEO Doug Morris gave an 
DVD Jon Johansen is getting lots of attention (again) these days. After successfully taking on and taking down the encryption used to "protect" DVD content from the prying eyes and inventive uses of the DVD consumer, 
