New Zune Store Replaces MSN Music
Microsoft has announced the decampment of MSN Music to a dedicated Zune store with a RealNetworks’ Rhapsody tie-in, setting the stage for the launch of its highly anticipated Zune portable media player.
The Zune itself and the counterpart Zune Marketplace will be officially unveiled on November 14, with MSN Music customers directed to the new store for buying individual songs or signing up for a $15 per month Rhapsody subscription service. On November 14, the “buy” buttons on MSN Music pages will change to links that connect users to Zune and Rhapsody.
Tunes already purchased from MSN Music will not be affected by the migration, and customers will be able to transfer songs to any players that support Microsoft’s PlaysForSure format. In addition, music already purchased at MSN or through the new Zune outlet will transfer seamlessly to Vista PCs, but those transfers will be subject to the five-PC limit specified by the current MSN Music rules.
