The Daily Aztec

Issue date: 2/1/07 Section: Science & Technology

Media Credit: Courtesy oF Wikipedia.org

Microsoft's self-described iPod-killer, the Zune, might soon be on its deathbed. The fight won't even be close if a digital content debacle involving major record labels Sony and Universal is not solved.

Microsoft boasted its ability to "squirt" songs - allowing Zune owners to share songs with other Zunes via built-in Wi-Fi for three plays or three days - as well as listen to FM radio, two features absent from the iPod. But the Zune's slogan, "Welcome to the social," seems to be less and less true as time goes on - there's a roadblock of Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions with Zune and its online music store.

Microsoft's textbook definition of DRM on its corporate Web site is "any technology used to protect the interests of owners of content and services (such as copyright owners)."

The Zune's highlighted feature has been proven to not work 50 percent of the time, with users getting failed transfers because of "copyright restrictions." Interestingly enough, the biggest culprits of failed squirts stem from Sony and Universal artists. The music moguls claim that intentional failure of transfer from Zune to Zune is wholly untrue. However, with a recent decrease in CD sales, a general increase in Internet piracy and a disdain of online content delivery, Universal has every reason to not trust the Zune. One report even showed that of the top-50 songs in the nation, nearly half of them were not able to be "squirted" via Wi-Fi, according to Zune blog Zunerama.

Universal Music Group's fear of its consumers is even more evident with Microsoft's shaky royalty deal, with the payment of an undisclosed sum to Universal for every Zune sold. Microsoft is already admitting guilt that its users will pirate music with such a deal. Nevertheless, this is not the first time record companies and artists will receive royalties for products that may not even include the use of their music. The sale of writable CDs, or CD-Rs, include royalties that go directly to the Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies because of the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992. However, digital mediums like the MP3 are exempt from the royalties of the act, and record company officials feel, as always, they need a bite out of the profit, whether it includes their music or not.

This crippling issue with the Zune, along with a failed dominance in the music player market in December 2006 shows that Microsoft has a lot of work to do to keep up with the iPod, which dominates almost 80 percent of the market share of digital music players, according to a Penton Media Inc. report.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools