Zune Marketplace Hits the 3 Million Mark!

Microsoft has not been releasing new features since the Zune was launch in November, but the Zune Marketplace team is bringing a lot to the Zune experience now. When the Zune player was first launch, the Zune marketplace had only 2 million tracks available. People complained that compared to the 3.5 million songs available on iTunes, the Zune marketplace was a not a good music store.

When I met Matt Jubilirer, Zune product manager, at the CES show in January, he told me that the Zune marketplace was already at 2.5 million songs available. But only a few months later, Microsoft announces that the Zune marketplace has now 3 million tracks available for the Zune users. This is a 50% growth over a six month period. At this pace, they could be catching-up with iTunes very fast!

I feel that Microsoft does not play that card the right way though. Today is the first time they make an announcement on new content added to the marketplace. But this announcement is for less than a thousand songs. They introduced a million songs in six months and they didn't even talk about it. They are missing an opportunity to really talk to Zune fans. The Zune Marketplace Editorial team should have a blog where they can talk about what is going on the Zune marketplace. A million songs to talk about! That's plenty of things to blog about! No?

Comments

[JohnCz]

I'm glad to see Zune begin to catch up. But it still has a ways to go to catch iTunes with over 4 million songs. Per MacNN, the say iTunes has reached 5 million (http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/05/01/zune.store.catching.itunes/)
Does anyone know what the official story is with the # of songs in iTunes?

[bob]

Golly, that works out to about 500,000 songs per person (assuming the few who actually did purchase a Zune kept it) !

[WaltL]

You might want to think about the quality of the available labels in your analysis not just the number of available titles available.

Additionally, there is a difference between selling 1 million Zune and stuffing retail channels with 1 million units. So, while we’re waiting for Q1 sales figures; January number show around 30,000 units sold (sold as in to end users). I’m not sure catching up is the correct characterization.

Have Fun,
Walt

[mark]

The official story can be found in Apple press releases at www.apple.com/pr. The last release on April 11th about MGM films mentions that iTunes has a music catalog of over 5 million songs. The Jan 9th press release about 2 billion songs sold mentions that iTunes was over 4 million songs. And the Nov 1st press release on the Latino store mentions that iTunes features over 3.5 million songs.

So Zune is not catching up, in the same period of six months, they've added only 1 million vs the 1.5 million at iTunes, so they're not even adding as many songs as iTunes is. Maybe that's why MS chooses not to announce it.

[Walt French]

> They are missing an opportunity to
> really talk to Zune fans.

Great concept: remind your customers every 30 days or so that you're still weak in music, with no major initiatives that'd provide a real advantage -- a bragging point.

What Microsoft needs to do is show a real roadmap that will provide friends of fans -- prospective buyers -- with a reason to believe that MS will really develop this product, instead of letting it die the way their previous two music initiatives have. Big picture, bold announcements, about hi-quality downloads, podcasts, freedom from DRM, current movies, hot unsigned bands or whatever. Not the addition of AM radio, 50 new tracks or whatnot.

But right now, it's Brand A that's raising the bar, not MS. I am absolutely flabbergasted that MS seems to be wasting all its customers' good will on a not-even-me-too product that is about 3 iterations away from competitive. With today's iPod.

[az]

music and all that can be gotten from many sources, napster, many other music buying programs, and (in truth) illegal downloads. The thing that zune would really need to do is push the new features. I purchased a zune not becase of the zune store, not becase i could share my music, not even the radio, although it was a major point, the major reson i purchased the zune was becase they said they would be updateing in routinely, and providing many new features including but not limited to, some sort of wifi hotspot acess. Features like this would boost sales, and make zune so much more desireable. Even news on such features would boost sales, but so far the only news we seem to get are the occasional free song or so, and that uh ya new features will be here.... about a year or two from now. Just a bit more news. I know i am proboly asking too much but still make news and spread it better thats what microsoft needs.

[Martin Hill]

Ahem - the most important metric is how songs Zune MarketPlace is selling. People are now *buying* 5 million songs each and every day from the iTunes Store which has sold over 2 billion already.

Has anyone heard a peep out of Microsoft on how many Zune songs have been sold?

Nope - I wonder why?

The next question is – where are all the movies,TV Shows, podcasts, games etc etc on the Zune marketplace?

"Catching up?" I'm sorry, but that is just not a valid description of anything to do with the Zune.

-Mart

[anona]

"They are missing an opportunity to really talk to Zune fans."

'Zune fans'? What's that?

"That's plenty of things to blog about! No?"

No.

(Pathetic try, BTW.)

[Robert]

Growth from 2.5 to 3 million is closer to 20% than 50% unless you use the latest Microsoft "fuzzy math" feature that is being used to calculate Vista sales. Or did you use the "time compressor," or is it the "time shifter,"to make 6 months from about 8 as Microsoft did in compressing 4 month's of Vista sales to become a quarter's sales?

[Adam]

Ahh Apple fans. You can always count on the Zealotry to show up as soon as someone insults the Fruit.

Keep on chuggin fellas, the world will be covered in rounded white plastic in no time!

[Bryce]

I think that Microsoft should take dramatic measures to step up their competition.

For instance, what if they were to set up billboards in every major city across the United States with a short message like "Get your music out there...Zune.net."

I know of 10 local bands varying from metal, power-pop, all the way to acoustic. All of them are quite talented and most have over 10 songs. That's 100 songs which I personally know of only through a network of friends. If Microsoft were to take in these "garage bands" and offer them 10 cents for every one of their songs downloaded, they'd boost their number + profits to well above Apple.

In addition, what if Microsoft were to add initiative like rewarding Zunes to members of the band when a certain number of songs have been downloaded or submitted?

Basically there is tremendous potential available to Microsoft and if they would take the step towards the consumer rather than away, they would bank. Hard.

[Martin Hill]

"Ahh Apple fans. You can always count on the Zealotry to show up as soon as someone insults the Fruit."

Adam, I'm afraid a little bit of zealotry seems to be seeping out from the Zune side causing an imbalance in the Force. :-)

Seriously though, you have to admit the phrase "catching-up with iTunes very fast" is a rather over-zealous statement in light of the actual statistics presented in the comments above, making the responses this article has engendered pretty understandable.

-Mart

[Adam]

Mart: It's no fun to pick on the underdog. My point is that I haven't seen too many Zunies going to iLounge and bragging about how far behind Apple is in implementing subscriptions and a wider screen, cool interface, scratchproofing, etc.

[Bryce]

The thing about the Zune, as you all know, is that it's an excellent product but it has been marketed/handled terribly. I'm sure that if Microsoft were to get out there and viciously promote this thing and set a large team of programmers/marketers on this thing, they'd find that they have a product which could seriously threaten the iPod.

"My point is that I haven't seen too many Zunies going to iLounge and bragging about how far behind Apple is in implementing subscriptions and a wider screen, cool interface, scratchproofing, etc."
-Adam

I believe that once Microsoft gets it's basics taken care of and speeds things up, we'll see some gloriously annoying debates on plenty of iPod forums :p