Microsoft Mulls Plan for New Music Service

CNET News is reporting that Microsoft is in negotiations with major record labels to create a new music service to serve the Xbox and Windows Phone. The service is now in the planning stage and would provide downloads as well as streaming content.

Negotiations are still in a preliminary stage and the two sides have yet to drill down into all the specifics, the sources said.

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Now, if only Nokia and MS collaborated to create the Zune HD successor...

This doesn't make sense, they already have zune, so why make the situation allot more complicated.

BDS23 said:

Now, if only Nokia and MS collaborated to create the Zune HD successor...

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Oh yes please, I really want to upgrade my zune HD and my carrier (sprint) has a crappy selection of WP7's they only have one. So far it seems it is going to stay that way, I haven't seen any announcements on when there will be a new one.

So help me god they better keep the Zune Pass around. There is no better deal than the Zune Pass right now. 10 bucks a month to listen to whatever music you want and you even have the ability to download song/albums on any Zune device you see fit. I can't tell you how many times I've been at work, hear a song on the radio and decide to just download the entire album right there on my phone to see what the rest of their music is like.

Solidstate89 said:

So help me god they better keep the Zune Pass around. There is no better deal than the Zune Pass right now. 10 bucks a month to listen to whatever music you want and you even have the ability to download song/albums on any Zune device you see fit. I can't tell you how many times I've been at work, hear a song on the radio and decide to just download the entire album right there on my phone to see what the rest of their music is like.

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+1. I have been a Zune Pass subscriber from day one, and have tried out every other service available and they have the absolute best deal hands down. I love having it integrated with my phone as well.

coldtortilla said:

This doesn't make sense, they already have zune, so why make the situation allot more complicated.

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Zune isn't making them rich, a situation MS cannot tolerate. Just like hardware. They constantly discontinue hardware products because it doesn't generate enough revenue. Successful is not good enough for MS. Everything it makes must be a blockbuster generating tons of revenue, or it's done for.

Here is what you do MS:

#0 Realize you already have a music
#1 Rebrand the Zune service if you want to Live music
#2 Fight to grow your catalog and get it close to your main competitor, spotify
#3 it would be good to bring back the original pass

#4 and this would be the biggest, get hw mfgs to make zunes (not just phones) and release a freakin android app! Throw BB a bone and make and app for them too!


Being a original Zune Pass subscriber I have to say I like the service and I own a zune HD, it would be great to have another version for that and there is still a need for a music play that is not my phone. With that being said I will be DARNED if I buy one more piece of hardware to take the music with me. If this new service is created and the zunes are axed and the service sunsetted (it is just about that now) and I can keep my same "plan" but I need new hardware I will drop it. I will miss my 10 credits a month but I can get my podcast else where, pay spotify $5 less although I'd hate to have it integrated into my Facebook and just use one of my three android devices.

Oh #5 ADVERTISE FOR THE *&$%ing service! The last Zune Pass add (which let me tell the uneducated, the zune market place is more than just the zune pass and "renting" its a store, you can buy music with MS points without having a pass or a zune device) was probably well over five years ago. They have been basically letting the service glide to the ground since then.