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[drb]

JR folks:

Just a thought/query or whatever:
I am a subscriber to almost all PC magazines like pcworld, pcmag etc. Have been reading all these for several years.

After yahoo bought musicmatch, I began to think how come such a lustre less program is able to make it like that. Musicmatch frequently comes in almost all those magazines ratings, reviews and other stuff. But so far i have come very little with MC. Why?

does musicmatch pay the magazines  or what?

i really feel bad that MC is left out like that.

just my 2 cents.

cheers,
drb

[JimH]

Thanks for the vote of confidence.  

Musicmatch had venture capital money.  Around $50 million or so.  They got to PC Magazine and others way before we could.

On the other hand, we won at CNET's download.com and on TechTV.

In any case, I salute Musicmatch and congratulate them for their success.  They did a very good job on many fronts.

BTW, I wrote the CEO of Musicmatch the day the news came out to say this.

[hit_ny]

does musicmatch pay the magazines  or what?

Anytime you see a magazine touting one product or another, its because the makers of the product have paid the magazine. Which makes it hard to separate the stars from the players.

I usually go with word of mouth or asking questions in the right forums. Takes a long time but the results are more accurate.

i think of Media center like the New Balance line of shoes. New balance uses its marketing budget (don't think they have one) to make its products better. Once i tried them never bothered to try any other. They keep their orignal customers whilst adding others through word of mouth.

[drb]

But JimH,
You got to do something. You may loose new customers who would like to even try MC.
I was planning to send in editorial comments to these magazines on several occasions even for other softwares and hardwares, but thought would care to publish my letter and kept quiet.

anyway, thanks for letting me know. I am glad you are also aware.

cheers,
drb

[benrad]

From page 32 of the new PC Magazine (October 5th Issue), from the article "Microsoft Overhauls Its Windows Media Player."

I find this line amusing:  Moreover, unlike other jukebox players, WMP 10's library now stores all of your media files, including videos and pictures, which is extremely handy. (my emphasis added).

We should start a letter writing campaign to the PC Mags and let them know that this "new" feature has been available for the the past 4 (?) years in MC.

[risingdamp]

That's not really true.  Though MC is far superior when it comes to audio WMP has always been better at handling video.  When you say video most people think of DVD and VCD these days.  Storing DVD's in the library and playing them back within MC10 is clunky at best whereas VCD is not supported at all in MC10.

[LonWar]

I leand about MC from Computer Power User... Every new version gets a little write up.

[TimB]

does musicmatch pay the magazines  or what?

Anytime you see a magazine touting one product or another, its because the makers of the product have paid the magazine. Which makes it hard to separate the stars from the players.

Wait, so you're saying that every magazine review that selects on product is a payoff?

-=Tim=-

[hit_ny]

Wait, so you're saying that every magazine review that selects on product is a payoff?

-=Tim=-

Magazines got to pay bills. Their biggest source of revenue is ads. A review is no different. It's rare to see a negative review comparing products. The only time this is the case is when the magazine is entirely user supported.

Otherwise the general formula is , the advertisers are the customers, the readers are the product the magazine provides.

[TimB]

So if MC gets a good review, then there's been a payoff?

Sorry but while I accept some advertiser influence this concept is a little too conspiracy-oriented for me.

(...and I LOVE MC)



-=Tim=-

[IanG]

Sorry but while I accept some advertiser influence this concept is a little too conspiracy-oriented for me.

It's more business sense than conspiracy - 8 years ago (the most recent figures I could find with a quick search) magazines were getting about 60% of their revenue from advertising.  That figure was rising, so it could well be more than that now.  He who pays the piper etc.

Ian G.

[hit_ny]

It's more business sense than conspiracy - 8 years ago (the most recent figures I could find with a quick search) magazines were getting about 60% of their revenue from advertising.  That figure was rising, so it could well be more than that now.  He who pays the piper etc.

Ian G.

Exactly, there are more magazines out there and a lot more products to choose from now.

How else can a magazine decide who/what to review ? The effort/cost required to do a fair job when comparing these products.  Not to mention the risks from lawsuits if a product gets negatively reviewed to the point it effects said product's sales.

Safe option, only give positive reviews to those that pay for a review. It's not always so cut and dry but works that way in general.

I can't imagine any other reason why our favorite media player has not been mentioned much in the media.

[benrad]

I work for a magazine that relies entirely on ad revenue, so think about it.

[TimB]

So if MC gets a good review, then there's been a payoff?
-=Tim=-

Quoting myself, how's THAT for an ego.

If MC gets a good review then they've paid off the media?  Do you agree with this?

-=Tim=-

[IanG]

So if MC gets a good review, then there's been a payoff?
-=Tim=-

Quoting myself, how's THAT for an ego.

If MC gets a good review then they've paid off the media?  Do you agree with this?

-=Tim=-

Two for the price of one!

No, I don't agree.  Put yourself in Jim's shoes - magazine A does a review that says MC is a fantastic product, editor's choice for the decade and cures the common cold.  Magazine B says you suck!  Where are you going to place your ads?  Now put yourself in the editor's shoes - what sort of review do you want to publish?

Ian G.

[TimB]

I'm not a big fan of conspiracy theories so I'll keep my naive opinions for now.

-=Tim=-