Zune

The group overseeing MSN Music in the United Kingdom seems to be operating off in its own little bubble, totally out of step with Microsoft's broader music and digital entertainment strategy.

First, they launched MSN Unsigned, a half-hearted attempt to let unsigned bands promote their music on MSN. (It's devolved since then: the button on the MSN Unsigned page to "send us your music" launches your e-mail application with a barely configured note--just a subject header. Apparently you're supposed to attach something, but darned if I can find any instructions on the site.) Then they … Read more

I'm not a lawyer, but I'm well-acquainted with legal filings from analyzing Microsoft's legal travails for the last nine years. I've seen a lot of aggressive lawsuits, but a copyright infringement suit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee is one of the boldest--and, I'd argue, short-sighted--filings I've ever seen.

The suit appears to have been initiated by Music Copyright Solutions (MCS), which claims to administer copyrights for more than 45,000 compositions. MCS is named as the lead plaintiff, along with a number of songwriters including Mark Farner of … Read more

After months of increasingly wild rumors, CNET's Ina Fried got the official scoop yesterday: Microsoft is indeed releasing the Zune HD this fall. The device will feature an OLED touch screen, high-definition video output (with an optional add-on), a version of Internet Explorer (it sounds similar to the version planned for Windows Mobile 6.5, which uses the core IE6 engine but adds Flash support, as well as some technology from IE8 to better support JavaScript), and HD Radio.

I spoke to the Zune marketing team this morning, and they didn't have much to say beyond those points. … Read more

David Carnoy over at Crave has already covered the latest crop of Zune rumors first published by TeamXbox. To summarize: the next portable device from Microsoft could combine a digital media player (like Zune) and a portable gaming device (like Sony's PSP or Nintendo's DS lineup) in a single device with a high-def touch screen. TeamXbox goes a little dreamy with the speculation, suggesting that this gadget might have built-in WiMax and connectivity to the MyPhone data storage and synchronization services that Microsoft announced for Windows Mobile 6.5.

The company isn't talking, but I can easily … Read more

Update 4:15 p.m. PDT: Two clarifications. First, Remote Media Streaming is not limited to music--you can also stream video and pictures. I focused on music because that's the main topic of this blog. Second, you are required to associate a Windows Live ID (which used to be called Passport) with each computer whose library you want to share, and each computer you want to be able to access that library. I assume Microsoft took this step to avoid complaints or possible litigation from content owners.

I was vacationing last week, so I missed my chance to comment on the Zune HD rumors. Microsoft had already told me that it is planning one more iteration of the Zune hardware, and given the iPhone's success, it wouldn't surprise me if it has a touch screen (though I was hoping for something more cutting-edge, like a projector).

Now it appears that Microsoft's getting ready to launch Zune for mobile phones around the same time.

According to AdWeek, Microsoft is currently staging a run-off between three advertising agencies--its longstanding advertising partner, McCann Erickson, Crispin Porter + Bogusky (… Read more

In January, Apple announced that all songs in the iTunes Store would be free from DRM. As part of the announcement, the company said that previous DRM-encumbered purchases would be upgradeable to DRM-free versions, with a higher bitrate as well. This isn't just a point of principle with me--I have a Zune player that automatically adds all the songs in my iTunes library, including AAC files, but which cannot see or play DRM-protected songs.

Today, while doing some shopping for songs I love but don't own (or have only on--gasp--cassette, which I can't digitize because of the … Read more

Wired's Epicenter blog has the skinny on why MySpace Music failed to create any big waves when it launched. A lot of mistakes were made, including an unclear Web address and lack of any independent music. But I think it boils down to something fairly simple: the designers of the service were focused on the wrong audience. MySpace envisioned the site as an online showcase for major acts on major labels. The labels, anxious for any help navigating the file-trading era, were excited. But nobody bothered to consider why users visit MySpace, and what they might want from a … Read more

In the absence of any concrete news from Microsoft about Zune, the same rumors crop up every few months. We've known for some time that Microsoft is porting the Zune software and marketplace to some sort of living room device--it's called the Xbox 360. (I doubt they'll do a separate piece of hardware like Apple TV, especially given the recent rash of cost-cutting around the company.) And as far as the latest crop of Zune-phone rumors, I expected Microsoft to announce Zune for Windows Mobile back in February at the Mobile World Congress show, and was … Read more