Microsoft Makes Zune Pass Rent To Own; Subscribers Get 10 Tracks A Month For Keeps
This story was written by Staci D. Kramer.
Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) just added some lagniappe to its Zune Pass music subscription: effective now, 10 tracks a month can be downloaded for keeps. It's a nice gesture for subscribersI am one so can attest to thatbut it's also a very real PR effort to goose interest in the subscription model. To expand the $14.99 monthly subscription, the company crafted new payment agreements with all four majorsEMI, *Sony*, *Warner Music Group*, and Universal Music Groupand indie distributors INgrooves, Independent Online Distribution Alliance and *The Orchard*. Microsoft values the tracks at approximately $10 (not in the confusing conceit of Zune Marketplace points), which would take the cost of the actual subscription to about $5 a month for those who make all the permanent downloads.
-- Liner notes: The 10 permanent tracks can be burned to CD or moved to other devices even after the subscription ends. The Zune Pass currently allows subscription sharing between three PCs and three Zunes. An updated version of Zune's software started distribution Tuesday. *Sony* BMG and UMG also agreed to provide DRM-free MP3s, joining EMI, WMG and some of the indie labels. Microsoft says Zune's library soon will offer 90 percent of its music as MP3s.
-- Billboard: "To make the offer, the Zune team had to rework its existing licensing deals with labels so that it now provides a certain percentage of the Zune Pass subscription fee to all labels based on market share, and then allocates a separate payment to each label based on what music is downloaded for good."
By Staci D. Kramer