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September 18, 2006
Zune Announced. Zune Already Obsolete.
Microsoft just announced its launch plans for Zune, its iPod competitor. Read about it at enGadget. And now the fun begins because market changes are already threatening the product's future. Welcome to the world of the "next big idea." If you are a B2B marketer stuck doing things as you have always done them, think about the pace of change in industries like music distribution.
What's eating Zune? The Wired Blog Listening Post noted that Rhapsody DNA was announced on the SanDisk Sansa e200. If the Rhapsody DNA reference doesn't mean anything to you, let me explain.
I have a Sonos music system at home. This past weekend, I updated the software to get the new tight integration with the Rhapsody music service. I can now control access to millions of songs and a vast library of artists from a wireless handheld device that let's me play jazz in the dining room, adult alternative in the living room, and rap on the deck...or whatever combination my mood dictates. I pay under $9 per month for access to the full library and only pay for individual songs if I want to copy then onto a portable music device outside the Rhapsody framework.
This tight Rhapsody integration with my Sonos system is in-part courtesy of Rhapsody DNA - a slick example of Web services that extends the firmware of a personal music device by introducing Rhapsody functionality onboard. All told, it's like having commercial-free satellite radio on my system, only I control the programming.
Over the past 2-3 years, music distribution has been irrevocably altered to account for entirely new processes that are permanently altering how we procure and manage music in our homes. We subscribe, rip, and mashup our music to suit our individual tastes and moods. Along the way, terrestrial radio, satellite radio and other structured media have been forced to continually evolve their business models to adapt.
Compare that with the processes you use to support your distribution netowrk or field sales teams. Are you continually assessing how changing customer expectations are modifying sales and support needs in the field? If not, think about the Zune team...celebrating with champagne in one hand and a case of Red Bull in the other for the all-nighter they'll be pulling to define next generation strategy.
Posted by jcioban at September 18, 2006 7:07 PM
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