Too Zune to tell

Today Microsoft announced that they are indeed going to produce a media player/iTunes killer, which they have xristened "Zune." Look forward to an onslaught of stupid puns, like, say, the title of my post. The article that announced the new product (? brand? products?) is hidden behind the Billboard paywall, but here's a quote from the TechCrunch post that quotes Billboard:

In an interview with Billboard, Chris Stephenson, Microsoft’s new GM of marketing for MSN Entertainment Business, said Zune will be an umbrella brand for what he says is “a family of hardware and software products” targeting various digital entertainment services.

Not terribly informative.

A Microsoft employee who is working on the project has started a blog on it called the Zune Insider Blog. And what blog serivce is he using? Typepad. Which, given Microsoft's propensity for always eating their own dogfood, pretty impressive. Here's his description of Zune:

It’s Microsoft’s new, holistic approach to music and entertainment. And yes, this year, we’ll be releasing a device as part of the project. Under the Zune brand, we’re looking to build a community for connecting with folks, all to discover new music and entertainment.

It's interesting how, just by what I've read so far, that I can tell this is going to be a disaster of epic proportions. Every hair on my BS detector is standing straight up. It's kind of a blink thing, because I can't articulate exactly why this seems so obviously a trainwreck in the making, but maybe it's the vagueness of it all. Based on the above, could anyone even answer the question "what is Zune?" Like if you asked "what is an iPod" the answer is immediately obvious. So is the answer to "What is Windows?"

A basic fact of business is that brands come from products. Products do not come from brands. It's as simple as that. That's why Zune will fail.