Classical music downloading: a tale of two sites

This week Apple brought out a bevy of shiny new iPods, and what delightful goodies they are. Amidst the itchy-kitchy-cooing over the new Nanos and Touches, Microsoft sort-of announced a sort-of enhancement to their Zune players.

Zune, by the way, is Microsoft's attempt to compete with the triple-socko iTunes/iPod/iTunes Music Store combo that dominates digital music these days. It incorporates a player (copying the iPod), management software (copying iTunes), and an online music store (copying the iTunes Music Store). Nowhere has Microsoft's earnestness in the "me-too" department been quite as glaring as in the case of the Zune.

I describe the Zune only because I have never used a Zune, nor have I seen anybody using a Zune, nor do I know anyone who owns a Zune. Most folks, in fact, have never heard of the thing.

But I have several iPods, I know tons of people who have iPods, and just about everybody knows what an iPod is.

Since both the iPod and Zune ecosystems include an online music store, I thought I'd compare the two in terms of classical music downloads. I'm quite accustomed to Apple's iTunes Music Store (iTMS) but I've never used the "Zune Marketplace", Microsoft's version of an online music store for the Zune ecosystem.

So I downloaded the Zune software (using Parallels on my Mac to run Windows, since there is no Mac version), and set up an account.

My little test is deliberately simple. I will seek downloads from both iTMS and Zune Marketplace of the following:

• Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 7, Osmo Vanska conducting the Minnesota Orchestra, very recently released on the BIS label.
• Brahms: Symphony No. 1 or No. 4, performed by George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra (these are American classics.)
• Herbert von Karajan conducting the Tchaikovsky "Pathetique" Symphony, with any orchestra (he recorded this many times.)
• The Tebaldi/Bergonzi version of Aida with Karajan conducting (an opera classic.)

Here's how it went.

iTunes Music Store

I searched by typing in the artist and composer names into the "Search" box, such as "Vanska Beethoven".

• Vanska Beethoven: they didn't have that one, although they carry all of the other, previously released Vanska/Beethoven albums.
• Szell Brahms: they had both symphonies, as well Szell's No. 3 with the Concertgebouw.
• Karajan Tchaikovsky: they had all of them that I know of, including his 1939 version.
• Tebaldi Aida: they had two different masterings.
   

Zune Marketplace

At first all of my searches came back "no result".

Eventually I realized that Zune can't deal with searches for both artist and composer, and in fact doesn't know what "composer" is.

You have to search for "artist" then look through whatever albums come up. There doesn't seem to be any way to refine a search.

For your results, all you get are small thumbnails of the albums with most of the descriptive text cut off. Nor is that text likely to be very helpful, given that I can't make much headway with: "Herbert von Karajan: Symphonies Nos. 5, 6, & 9." (This is why I say Zune doesn't know what a composer is.)

In short, it took a lot longer to get results with Zune, and I'm not at all sure about any of them.

• Vanska Beethoven: doesn't have any of the Vanska/Minnesota Beethoven recordings, new or old.
• Szell Brahms: had both symphonies.
• Karajan Tchaikovsky: I found the 1971 Berlin recording on EMI, but nothing else, and that took a lot of squinting.
• Tebaldi Aida: I couldn't find it.
   

The verdict

As I said before, I've never used a Zune or bought anything from the Zune Marketplace. This experience does not encourage me to do so. Searching is primitive, the store has no concept of classical music, and the software's interface is hopelessly ill-conceived.

The iTunes Music Store may not be perfect, but it simply blows Zune out of the water, and for classical music, there is no comparison. Searches are easy and reliable, the selection is excellent, the software graceful and inviting.

One rather wonders why Microsoft even bothers...