A Legitimate Reason to Hate the Zune (And Microsoft Too)

by Chris Seibold Nov 10, 2006

Imagine you’re in your local computer store contemplating buying a printer. You’ve researched the situation carefully, calculated how often you print versus print cartridge capacity, factored in print quality and have concluded that the Rifle AllinOne Mound of Ugly is perfect for your needs. The tag says $99 but when you get to the counter the cashier hits you for $150. Troubled, you query the cashier as to the nature of the discrepancy. The cashier informs you that the extra fifty is going to magazine publishers. Intrigued, you inquire further. The cashier explains (to the growing annoyance of the people behind you) that since there is scanner built into the printer that you might decide to scan an article without permission. Hence the fifty bucks is there to help the troubled magazine publishers. You protest. You aver that the only magazines you read are old issues of The Spy and that mag is out of print. The cashier counters by saying that it isn’t an optional fee, if you want the printer you’re paying the $#@#damned fee. You decide to pay. You’ve been treated like a criminal but, on the bright side, you’ve got a new printer and you’ve learned something: don’t talk to the cashier and hold up the line, people hate that.

Obviously the scenario is ridiculous, no one would expect to be charged extra because of something they might do with said equipment. For example, if one went into a store and bought a bag of Apples and a big box of razor blades on October 30* would a reasonable person expect to pay an up charge because those razor blades might go into the apples which could then be distributed to trick or treaters? Oddly enough, that is precisely what is happening with the Zune, though instead of hitting you with the fee at the register the tax on illegal usage will be hidden in the price tag.

Here’s the situation: Microsoft has agreed to pay a portion of the profits from the sales of the Zune to a record company (Universal) because the Zune will undoubtedly be used to store unpurchased songs. It is something record company executives have made noise about before but something that was laughed away as ludicrous. Microsoft wasn’t laughing when Universal asked, they just smiled and said “sure” (presumably they’ll ask for a kiss and cuddles later).

Here it is important to remember a few simple things. The money goes to the Universal, not to the artists. It could be that Universal will share the profits fairly with the artists and it could also come to pass that the Middle East will become a placid, uncontentious place. The second thing to remember is that since Universal got a slice of the profits every other record company will seek the same treatment. The final thing to keep in mind is that people don’t mind artists getting paid but they positively loathe the idea of forking over cash to what is largely regarded as an industry not fueled by motivation to give the consumers what they want but by a sincere desire to screw the end user out of as much cash as possible. So there is nothing remotely fair about the situation, legit users get to share the burden with the download addicted, bands won’t get paid and the profit model of the record companies is perpetuated: don’t make a more compelling product, find new ways to seperate people from their cash.

Obvious objections aside, the reality is that music execs are going to be getting a slice of the Zune pie for doing nothing more than whining loudly. Hence it makes sense to get used to the idea of paying for perceived infrinements instead of actual misuse. It is at this point we realize that the executives are leaving a large chunk of money on the table. The Zune, the iPod and every other digital player follow a pretty recognizable pattern: Wrap storage (either flash or hard drive space) in something sufficiently attractive, mix in a battery, a few specialized chips, a port for the ear phones and viola, a Digital Audio Player. You could do it yourself. Since DAPs are so simple stripped of the hype, it is time for the record execs to get what they have coming. First thing: Record companies should now get a cut of every hard drive sold. That is just common sense, the amount of music illegally downloaded far outstrips the combined storage of all DAPs sold and all that data has to be somewhere. That somewhere is computer hard drives. No hard drives, no piracy. They also deserve a cut on each piece of flash memory sold, a lot of flash memory is used in the shuffle and the nano and those things are just crammed to bursting full of non purchased music. Finally, every screen sold should earn the movie studios a piece of the pie as well, no screen means no watching pirated DVDs.

Microsoft’s move sets a bad precedent and turns all consumers into thieves without evidence. For the time being one can argue that the agreement is not going to monetarily impact consumers because Microsoft is absorbing the hit. If the Zune prevails over the iPod that won’t last long, the cost will quickly be directly paid by the consumer. Think of it as a tax for being a criminal even if every song on your DAP came from your purchased CD collection. As annoying as DRM is in general at least customers had a choice not to purchase protected songs, soon they will pay for music they didn’t even pirate just by buying a Zune. On the other hand, if you buy a Zune you should feel absolutely free to steal any songs published by Universal, you paid the tax after all. You filthy criminal.

*Something I do every year, so far no one has noticed. I suppose they think that I really like apples and shaving.

Comments

  • This isn’t actually as new as you are making it. Although i have never heard of a company making a deal with only one studio (evidently the user might store songs from Universal but the fact that they might do the same to Sony etc. is inconcievable). I do not know if this is the case in the US, but in canada a tax is put on all “blank media” which goes to the recording association. Yes this includes ipods.

    simo66 had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 78
  • Actually, there is no longer a Blank Media Levy on iPods or other MP3 players in Canada. A Canadian Judge threw out that law on December 17, 2004. However, there is still a Blank Media Levy on CD-R’s, DVD-R’s, etc.

    dleboubon had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 17
  • Obviously the scenario is ridiculous, no one would expect to be charged extra because of something they might do with said equipment.

    as a matter of fact, such a levy does exist in canada on the purchase of CD-Rs. It was supposed to be extended to ipods (or the hard drives in the ipods) but so far it hasn’t. thankfully.

    the parallax view had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 25
  • shit, sorry. i should have read the other comments first.

    the parallax view had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 25
  • While I deplore this attempt to part me and my money, I don’t think a ‘tax’ on theft is something unique to the record industry. If you don’t think shoplifting costs are factored into every purchase from Walmart then your are certainly naive. The truth is that theft whether of bits or atoms hurts everyone and we all pay whether explicitly or not.

    rmwilliams had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 1
  • Relax, they’ll probably put a version of WAG on the Zune that “checks every day or it won’t play” with the net to be sure you paid for those songs. Or better yet, 3 plays over 3 days for ripped audio from a CD then it disapears from both the Zune and the Zune tunes interface… Forcing you to re-rip the CD and re-sync.

    You poor Canadians… Then again you get free health care and college so shut up :>)

    xwiredtva had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 172
  • Before someone jumps on me, that was meant in a joking manner.

    xwiredtva had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 172
  • Hmmmmmmmm….....Free college. My student loan payment begs to differ. A large portion of the cost of post-secondary education is paid for by the various levels of Government, for Canadian citizens, so there is still some tuition cost. Although, compared to the cost of college in the States, it is a bargain, at least for Canadian citizens ; ).

    Of course, I don’t like the perquisite of paying music execs for the backing up my own data. I have an i pod that’s loaded with songs I either purchased from i tunes or from legally purchased CD’s, that the music execs have already gotten a cut of. I don’t think I’ve ever created a music CD. A few tapes back in the 80’s maybe…...I’m hoping there’s a statute of limitations on my previous life of crime!!

    dleboubon had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 17
  • While I deplore this attempt to part me and my money, I don’t think a ‘tax’ on theft is something unique to the record industry. If you don’t think shoplifting costs are factored into every purchase from Walmart then your are certainly naive.

    Sure shoplifting costs are factored in to the price of consumer goods. But you don’t pay a fee at Walmart for items that may be shoplifted from Kmart. This is what this Zune/Universal deal is in effect. One would be paying Microsoft for something someone may have stolen from Universal. If Universal needs to recoup costs from stolen product, they should increase the cost of their own product, not Microsoft’s.

    The fact that the goods that may have been stolen from Universal may be transported and stored in the Microsoft product should be irrelevant. I don’t pay an extra fee on a car which I may use to transport stolen goods out of Walmart or the home in which I may store said stolen goods.

    woneffe had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 2
  • wow, that’s pretty crazy.  I didn’t know that the levy excluded DVD-Rs, although that explains why they’re so cheap.  My understanding is that the levy also applies to VHS tapes, not that it really matters much these days. 

    Kinda funny how it doesn’t include dvd-rs, I mean it’s not as if they couldn’t be just as easily used for copyright infringment when it comes to movies, tv shows and computer software (or console video games).  Of course, that would mean finding a way to then divvy up this levy between these various groups.  My understanding is that the levy on the cd-rs is still being held back until they can decide on a method of giving that money up.

    Of course the upside of this sort of a levy is that you don’t have record companies suing old ladies with an open wifi connection. 

    I’m not sure how I feel about the inaction of the government in this case, considering what’s been happening with Death by Popcorn, a mockumentary cut together with found footage that was going to be thrown out from the old CKY building, the Winnipeg CTV affiliate.  Because CTV never gave consent, they want the footage back and the film destroyed. 

    Now I’m just ranting.  So I’ll stop.

    Chicken2nite had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 79
  • There is a levy here (Belgium, so I suppose all of European union) but the money goes (also?) to the artists, as I can testify.

    WAWA had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 89
  • In the US, there is a 2% charge on Cd and DVD burners that goes directly to the RIAA, whether you use it to burn music or not.

    This is deplorable, another example of RIAA’s abuse of its oligopoly cartel, but sadly nothing new.

    And I don’t blame the burner manufacturers or MS, chickenshits though they are.  This is all at the feet of the money-grubbing music industry.

    Beeblebrox had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 2220
  • Wow! How badly are MS trying to make the Zune fail? They’ve shot off both their feet with repeated blasts and now have the gun to their head.

    Of course, on the other hand…

    Maybe MS are just trying to find out how stupid consumers are.

    How many stupid moves have MS made now with the Zune?

    - Brown
    - Not compatible with Plays-for-Sure DRM
    - Paying piracy tax to Universal.
    - Only available in the US

    That’s a few off the top of my head, but I know there’s been others. Anyone remember the others?

    Chris Howard had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 1209
  • How many stupid moves have MS made now with the Zune?

    - Brown
    - Not compatible with Plays-for-Sure DRM
    - Paying piracy tax to Universal.
    - Only available in the US

    There’s only one stupid move.  Brown is a color, no worse or better than the vomit yellow that the Nano comes in.  The piracy tax will NOT raise the price of the Zune.  MS would charge $249 (they should charge way less) regardless.  Also, the piracy tax is already levied in DVD and CD burners and blank media with no effect in sales.

    The BIG issue is that it’s not compatible with PFS.  I content, though many iPod defenders disagree, that purchased music compatibility and DRM in general IS a factor in mp3 player purchases, and that circumventing it is a pain in the ass.

    Beeblebrox had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 2220
  • One quibble:
    Microsoft has agreed to pay a portion of the profits from the sales of the Zune to a record company

    This should be portion of the *revenues* from Zune sales, as the Zune will be sold at a loss.

    Microsoft’s move sets a bad precedent
    I completely, totally agree. The music industry has far too much power and is well known for abusing it. For any of the serious DAP competitors to flirt with them and kiss their feet like this can only make things worse in the long run.

    Benji had this to say on Nov 10, 2006 Posts: 927
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