Napster Blames Microsoft for Failures
Napster chief executive Chris Gorog took Microsoft to task Tuesday, telling Reuters that Microsoft and its hardware partners were to blame for his company's inability to make headway against market leading iTunes. Recent surveys show Apple's music software has more than 80 percent of the market, with that number continuing to rise.
Gorog called Microsoft's execution "less than brilliant" and said that technical glitches with the company's digital rights management technology was hurting Napster's business.
Napster relies on Microsoft's digital music ecosystem and its PlaysForSure technology, which has continued to sputter in the face of strong competition from Apple with the iPod and iTunes.
Gorog did admit, however, that Microsoft's task of dealing with a multitude of services and device makers makes the Redmond's company's job a lot tougher.
"It's a lot more complex to get organized properly than it is to build one device and one service as Apple has done," Gorog told Reuters. "It's always been painful at the introduction of new technologies. But it always takes shape like it's done in the past."
Even after publicly criticizing Microsoft, Gorog then went on to say he expected the "Microsoft ecosystem" to eventually come out on top, noting that all the big name manufacturers would "come to the Windows Media party."
"Microsoft and its partners still have kinks to work out with respect to rights management and seamless, reliable transfer to portable devices. Apple got this right the first time," Jupiter Research senior analyst Joe Wilcox commented to BetaNews.
"Additionally, time is long past for Windows Media partners -- Microsoft, device makers and music stores -- to do some serious marketing; at the least, they need to equal Apple's noise."
People are not looking at the big picture, Gorog says, saying only five percent of music sales were now digital. The Napster CEO said he expects the industry to be a lot different within 12 to 24 months.
Gorog also took the time to dispel rumors of a sale, saying that while the company had received offers to unload assets, it was not interested. He also admitted Napster itself had made some missteps in articulating the value of the business.
The company's losses widened last quarter, reaching $17 million versus $12.8 million the year before. Revenue nearly doubled, however, reaching $23.5 million, which is up from $12.1 million the year previous.
In a statement, Microsoft's direcor of Windows Digital Media Kevin Unangst said, "We're seeing higher than ever demand for Windows Media Player and PlaysForSure devices, and Windows Media Player 11 and Windows Vista will provide incredible music experiences when released later this year."
"In fact, Chris's own assessment was that a strategy of choice is the right approach in the long term," Unangst added.