Microsoft to reduce Zune Pass subscription price?

[Matthew DeCarlo]

According to a report by Bloomberg, Microsoft might slash the price of its Zune Pass online music streaming service. Although the service is already a bargain, Redmond is up against fierce competition like Apple, who currently commands a vast majority of digital music sales. Apple and its legion of iPods also held 76% of the portable music player market in the first quarter, compared to 2% for Microsoft's Zune, according to NPD.

Meanwhile, Rhapsody, another face in the music download business, recently reduced the monthly price of its premier music service from $14.99 to $9.99. That fee gets you unlimited streaming across a variety of hardware, including PCs, home audio equipment, and one mobile device.

For $14.99 a month, Zune Pass also offers unlimited music streaming to as many as three portable devices and three computers. Additionally, you can download 10 DRM-free songs per month – no strings attached, yours to keep forever. If Microsoft cuts its rate, Zune Pass will undoubtedly be the best value available, short of piracy.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/39114-microsoft-to-reduce-zune-pass-subscription-price.html

 

[Tekkaraiden]

They might be able to grab more of the market share if they marketed the Zune better. Heck I'd buy a Zune HD if I could, but they're currently only available in the US.

 

[Timonius]

It would be nice if it was actually available outside the US... like Canada. Until then, I couldn't give two farts about it.

 

[AfricanTech]

Yeah - what's with the limited availability - here in Africa we buy ipods even though we can't access music via itunes. It would be nice if the zune was sold here.

 

[aaron86]

I think the Zune services are going international with the release of Windows Phone 7, which will basically be phones + zune players. I would imagine the Zune Hardware itself will follow this when they release the Zune HD 2, which should be able to access the international WP7 app store.