Former Zune exec: music biz was “hooked on the drug” Apple was supplying

Robbie Bach, a former Microsoft executive who led the company’s devices and entertainment division, yesterday shared some surprisingly frank observations on Apple, the iPod business and Apple’s “incredible” execution that, under the guidance of late co-founder Steve Jobs, saw it rise to become the world’s most-valued corporation…
Robbie Bach was in charge of Microsoft’s entertainment division and had overseen the launch of the original Xbox that put the Windows maker on the gaming console map. He also led the division through the launch of the Zune music player.

In an interview with Geekwire, Bach shared some interesting observations regarding the iPod vs. Zune rivalry and the way Apple goes about its business.

In retrospect, he said, Microsoft’s Zune strategy wasn’t a match for Apple’s aggressive approach to the music industry. He would “skip portable media players completely” if he could do Zune over again and instead would charge the Windows Mobile team with the creation of “the coolest music service for your phones ever”.

He admitted:

The portable music market is gone and it was already leaving when we started. We just weren’t brave enough, honestly, and we ended up chasing Apple with a product that actually wasn’t a bad product, but it was still a chasing product, and there wasn’t a reason for somebody to say, oh, I have to go out and get that thing.