First up is the leak from NeoGAF where user Barkley’s Justice shared the following email he received from a distributor:

The time has come… Microsoft is winding down its Zune brand and turning a new leaf as Xbox Music. This global relaunch represents Microsoft’s move to make the games console the entertainment hub of the home, similar to what Sony Playstation did with their Music Unlimited service. The revamped service will offer free-to-user advertising-funded streaming, a single tier dual subscription streaming service, a scan-and-match locker service and ALC downloads.

As users immediately pointed out on the forums, Xbox Music is essentially Spotify. There are a few differences though. The most obvious is that Xbox Music will most assuredly require an Xbox Live Gold subscription. Users wanting to spend the $10 a month on Xbox Music will also have to pony up the $60 a year fee for Xbox Live Gold.

It was also revealed by Engadget that Xbox Music will offer an annual rate of $99.90. Combined with Xbox Live Gold, users would be paying $160 a year for a music streaming service that may only work on their consoles.

What’s strange here is that leak from NeoGAF and the pricing leak seem to contradict each other. The NeoGAF leak says that users will be able to get free streaming through advertising. The pricing leak makes it seem like users will be forced into paying a subscription no matter what. Will paying users get advertisements? Most likely as Xbox Live Gold subscribers are subjected to advertisements on the Xbox 360 dashboard.

For now, all of this is still one big rumor. We won’t know anything for sure until Microsoft announces full details. We’ll probably know something closer to the launch of Windows 8. I wouldn’t be surprised if Microsoft ditched an advertisement-supported model and just made everybody pay for the service. It looks like Spotify won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Microsoft sent out a mass email today that outlined the changes coming to the Zune platform. The people who will be affected most are those who still clutch to their Zune with dear life. The basic functionality of the Zune to accomodate the Zune Music Pass will not be altered nor will the songs that you purchased from the Zune store be removed. Everything else, however, is being cut.

The following features being axed tomorrow include:

In all honesty, the Zune PC users are the ones who are getting the short end of the stick here. It shows that Microsoft is moving away from the Zune branding to more recognized Xbox brand. The email promises that more Xbox Music details are on the way. Pro-tip for Microsoft: Next week’s Windows Phone 8 event would be the perfect place to reveal more Xbox Music details.

The death of Zune isn’t surprising to anyone, but it still stings a little. The Zune HD was a great piece of hardware that was bogged down by bad software. It also had some forward thinking ideas, like sharing music with other Zune owners. Now it’s up to Windows Phone 8 to take those ideas and transform into the next era of Microsoft’s mobile strategy.

[h/t: Engadget]

But, wait. Didn’t the Zune Marketplace already unite everything music-related from Microsoft? It did indeed, and it appears as if Xbox Music will be killing off, or at least replacing, the Zune branding. Over at the Bits blog, The New York Times has confirmed that the Zune brand will be abandoned. The Times cites Microsoft spokesperson Melissa Stewart as stating:

…the Zune brand is going away so Microsoft can use the better-known Xbox brand for its entertainment services, including its online video service.

In a way, it makes sense for Microsoft to use its best, most recognizable brand, Xbox, to promote its music products on Windows 8. In fact, considering that the Zune media player hardware is now discontinued, the writing has been on the wall for a while now. Though some of the Zune devices were well reviewed and loved by die-hard Zune fans, competing in the high-end MP3 plaer market that Apple invented was a no-go from the start. The only thing the Zune name can do for Microsoft now is remind customers about its failed portable media devices.

The Xbox branding, however popular it may be, is still very closely related to gaming at this point, which could confuse Windows 8 adopters this fall. It’s clear that Microsoft wants the Xbox 360 to be the media center around which all types of media consumption devices revolve. That might work as a roundabout way to truly compete with Apple in the music and entertainment markets, and could have been the long-term plan for the Xbox all along. However, Microsoft built the Xbox 360 brand around gaming, and it will have to continue to strongly support gamers if it hopes to compete with far less expensive media center devices such as the Apple TV and Roku HD.

(via The New York Times)

Yes, Microsoft has Zune, but the only problem with Zune is that…wait, what’s Zune? We’re talking about a legitimate Zune successor here, and according to The Verge, Microsoft plans to give everyone a little taste at this year’s E3 conference.

Back in February, we told you about Microsoft’s rumored music service. According to reports, the company was in talks with record companies to launch the new service on the Xbox 360 and Windows Phone. It was rumored that the new service would allow users to stream and download music, which would throw it in direct competition with services like iTunes, Google Play, and even Spotify.

According to The Verge’s sources, the service is codenamed “Woodstock,” and will be compatible across multiple platforms including iOS and Android. Another key component is apparently deep Facebook integration, something we’ve seen Spotify capitalize on in recent months.

Apparently we’ll get the sneak peek at E3, and it will launch sometime later in 2012. This will probably be Microsoft’s big 2012 release, as we’re all pretty sure that there’s not going to be any talks about a new Xbox anytime this year.

The success or failure of this upcoming venture will be determined by Microsoft’s ability to penetrate a market where many users feel completely comfortable with what they have. Cross-platform or not, it’s going to be difficult to pull users away from iTunes and Google Play if Microsoft’s new service focuses heavily on buying music. If it’s more like Spotify, that will be a whole other thing.

What do you think about Microsoft’s new push into digital music? Let us know in the comments.

[Lead Image via Wikipedia]

Let’s back up a little bit first though. Microsoft has found through their research that most app users obtain apps via their phones. If that obvious nugget of wisdom didn’t floor you, maybe the fact that the Web portal has become popular as well might do the trick. Again, if you have ever used an Android or iPhone, you know this to be basic app shopping protocol.

Microsoft decided that it wasn’t worth it to keep the Windows App option open on the Zune store. I’m just surprised that it took them this long to figure out that even Zune users (all three of them) don’t even use the Zune store anymore. Of course, it would be mean to close the entire store, so Microsoft is keeping the Zune HD apps store open.

Microsoft does want to point out that the Zune software still has a purpose for Windows Phone users. You can use it to install Windows software updates, making backup copies of photos and videos store on your phone, and, of course, buying music.

Speaking of software updates, Microsoft is soon requiring every Windows Phone to be updated to Windows Phone 7.5 to buy, submit or review apps. Why? It’s all part of an effort to unify the platform. Similar in a way to how the latest version of iOS runs on the last three makes of the iPhone. Now if only Android smartphone manufacturers would roll out official ICS updates to all of us Android 2.3 users.

In another part of the Windows Phone blogosphere, Todd Brix detailed how the new changes will affect developers. He mentions that “deep links” to apps on the marketplace will need to be changed if they use the zune:// format for links. The proper way to link to your app is http://windowsphone.com/s?appId={GUID}.

The same post also revealed that Microsoft has released the OS software required to bring Marketplace to smartphone users in Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, UAE and Vietnam. This allows developers in these regions to officially start developing apps for Windows Phone as well as setting up hardware manufacturers to start selling Windows Phones to the people of these countries.

This revelation appears to have started with Microsoft blog Zunited, which points out a number of elements where Apple has been “inspired” by Microsoft, including design and social networking.

“This was no coincidence,” Zunited blogger CoryRS says of the slogan. “It looks like Microsoft had some good ideas and Apple took notice. The disappointing part is how few people noticed.”

Above, you can see the Apple version. Here’s Microsoft’s:

Here’s some of the Twitter discussion around the topic:

I can’t personally confirm which site had the slogan first. I actually have a Zune, and I don’t use iTunes. Even as a Zune user, I’ve rarely had any reason to go to the actual site that says this. I haven’t seen anybody so far speaking out and saying that Apple had it first, however.

If both companies are attached to the slogan, this could become an issue.

Recent rumors/reports indicate Microsoft may be planning a new music service, which could either replace or complement Zune, but geared more towards Xbox 360 and Windows Phones.

CNET got the exclusive scoop from insiders that Microsoft is in talks with record companies to create a new music service to offer on Windows phones and Xbox 360. It remains to be seen if the rumored service will replace the company’s preexisting Zune service or if it will complement the service.

The sources said that the service is still being being planned out with negotiations under way. Microsoft is apparently wanting to launch the service later this year and would allow users to stream and download music.

The rumors suggest that Microsoft is also in talks with HTC and Nokia to implement the new service in their Windows phones.

With the service allegedly allowing users to stream and download music, it would set Microsoft in a much better position to compete with Apple and Google. Both companies already have their own music services on their mobile operating systems – iTunes and Google Music respectively.

Microsoft is obviously moving towards a more media-oriented operating system with Windows 8 and they are already there with the Xbox 360 and Windows phones. You can bet this new service will become a reality this year. It just remains to be seen if their proposed video service ala Netflix will ever take off the ground after negotiations were reportedly halted.

Inside Mobile Apps is reporting that a source close to Microsoft told them that the company may soon be phasing out it’s much maligned Microsoft Points system. The move would go into effect sometime this year and affect all three branches of Microsoft’s product families – Windows Phone, Zune and Xbox Live.

When Microsoft was asked to comment, they gave the usual, “we do not comment on rumors or speculation” throwaway comment.

With that being said, the source went on to say that mobile developers are being warned to plan their upcoming DLC and in-app purchases around the move to real money. Customers who have unspent Microsoft Points will have them converted into their region’s currency.

For those who don’t know, Microsoft Points are Microsoft’s proprietary system of handling online transactions. They were first introduced with Xbox Live in 2005 and have been a staple of the platform ever since.

The problem comes from the fact that unlike Nintendo’s point system, Microsoft Points don’t translate to actual currency in a way that makes sense. Eighty points equates to one dollar under Microsoft’s system. This led to a feeling that the company was cheating people out of money due to users spending $10 to buy 800 points for DLC that only costs 600 points. This led to 200 points that the user already paid for just sitting there with no purpose.

This move would come as a welcome move to many users, myself included, who have felt the sting of 20 points sitting in their Xbox Live account for the past two years.

"Whether you’re looking to discover deeper cuts, in the market for tickets to the next concert, brushing up on your favorite lyrics, buying a song or finding out whether the lead singer was arrested, Bing now organizes the most common things associated with your favorite artist in a new user interface," the Bing Team explains. 

The concept isn’t bad, but the execution leaves quite a bit to be desired. My first instinct, using this feature, was to check out one of my favorite bands (Converge) to see what kind of info Bing delivered. I was disappointed to say the least.

Labels Can Be Deceiving

First off, the genre Bing has the band labeled as is "Electronic/Dance". I’m not a big fan of the limitations of labels, but this is just way off. There is nothing about the band Converge that is remotely reminiscent of such a genre. They play a special brand of moody metal with roots in hard core (though in some songs they defy genre entirely). That’s beside the point though. If I’m using Bing to check out a band I’ve never actually heard and the first thing I see is a label indicating that band belongs to a genre I don’t care for, I’m not likely to even sample the songs, and am bound to go on my way assuming this band is not for me. That’s not good for artists. 

Interestingly enough, the first five words of the bio, which is directly under the genre (if you make it that far to read it) are, "The punk metal act Converge", which would be a more appropriate label (I suppose). The bio info and the song samples are pulled from Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace. I’ve asked the company where the genre info comes from, and am awaiting response. Zune has the band listed as simply "Rock" (which isn’t all that helpful either, but is more accurate than what the artist page says). 

Irrelevant Results

The videos section simply goes to a Bing video search, which in the case of Converge, again leaves a lot to be desired. There are some Converge videos scattered among a lot of other random videos. I could look past this if I were just doing a search, because I don’t expect Bing to necessarily know that I am talking about the band (though this is debatable since I have them "liked" on my Facebook profile, and I believe Bing has access to that information), but when you’re coming directly from the artist page for this band, you would think they could do a better job filtering the artist-related videos out of the rest. At least the top three video results, which are visible on the artist page itself (before clicking through to see more results) are related to the band. 

No such luck with the regular web results section on the artist page however. The first result is for "Converge – Global Supply Chain Management", followed by the band’s official site. Again, if I were just doing a random search, I could forgive this, but being how I’m on the actual artist page, Bing knows I’m talking about the band, yet it is still giving me the non-band result over the band result. 

Other Issues

The "Converge" page is also lacking some of the other features afforded to some other artists (like tour dates, news, etc.). There is a link for lyrics, but you’d be hard pressed to find any Converge lyrics in there. It seems to pull any random song from any random artist that happens to contain the word "converge" in its lyrics. That must be what I’m looking for if I’m on a Converge artist page right? 

Even the Zune marketplace, where much of the info for the artist pages appears to be pulled from has news for Converge (via the band’s official Twitter account), but this is not present on the artist page. 

Is Converge the exception rather than the rule? Look up the band Grizzly Bear. There is an artist page for this group, which includes videos and images of grizzly bears (the animal). One of two web results is the Wikipedia page for the animal. 

Bing’s artist pages might be more useful to you if the band you’re looking for doesn’t share a name with other things. Lady Gaga searchers are safe. It’s a good thing the Beatles didn’t call themselves the Beetles. 

Not a Good Time for Bing to Disappoint

Bing’s artist pages could be quite useful for users and could help out Microsoft’s Zune unit, but they’re going to have to make some improvements. I’m not sure this was ready for prime time. Bing stands to make significant gains in search market share for reasons we’ve discussed before, and music searches are often done from mobile devices (which is one key area where Bing is bound to get some of that newfound market share). 

Users may not be left with the greatest taste in their mouths if these are the kinds of results they’re presented with.

What do you think of Bing’s new artist pages? Let us know in the comments.

Does Disney’s Keychest sound interesting to you? Tell us.

A studio insider gave this scenario on how Keychest could possibly work…

"Dad has a Zune, Mom has an iPod, there’s a Mac and a PC at home and a Roku box; right now, those devices don’t talk to one another … We intend to blend those worlds."

It’s being rumored that Disney could begin testing the new technology in as little as two months, and it may be consumer ready by next year. Supposedly, Keychest will use cloud-computing coupled with a physical product (e.g. a DVD), that will only require the person to pay for the rights so that it could be watched on any device.

It’s no secret that companies have been looking for a distribution model, as some feel consumers are slowly buying less DVD’s. This is where the Keychest technology would step in.

Would you use Disney’s Keychest technology? Let us know.