Currently, I have Napster-to-go with my Dell DJ. The DJ is on it's way out the door, and I'm looking at getting a Zune. Will this Zune subscription thing for 15 bucks a month allow me to transfer music to the player itself, or is it simply to let you listen to music on your computer?
In other words, will there be something like napster-to-go that works with the Zune?
TIA!
I'm really confused about the Zune Terms of Service, specifically section 14, Content Usage Rules. The way it reads, it sounds like I will lose access to any content purchased during my subscription if I end my subscription. For example, I buy a Zune today, subscribe to Zune Marketplace for 6 months and download music onto the device. After I end my subscription, I can't listen to any of it. This sounds like I'll have to pay for the rest of my life to listen to Zune Marketplace content that I paid for. Is this true? Am I getting this right?
Sounds about right. Not to worry, some clever hacker will find a way around the DRM system.
Yes, it's true. Think about it though--you pay $14.99/month, and have access to a library of around 2 million songs. So, for $14.99/month, you can listen to whatever you want. It's true that when you stop paying, you stop being able to listen to the music--the subscription is more of a music rental service than a music buying service. Think about it though--if you buy more than one CD a month, it's already a good deal to get the subscription. The subscription also offers you the ability to listen to entire albums that you otherwise would have had to pay for before listening to it. I've been doing it for 2 years, and I have to say that I'm glad I went this direction rather than continuing to waste money on CDs that I often didn't like.
Thanks Joel, that really cleared it up though I think it should be stated more clearly on the Zune site. I agree that it would pay for itself assuming you usually buy 1 CD per month (forever 
). I'm more of the 'a few here, a few there' person, so the purchase option would work best for me.
Thanks again!
For the most part, the Zune works like any other player out there, just put your songs on it and go.
mykenk wrote:
How does the library compare with other companies (Napster, Yahoo, Rhapsody)?
From what I understand, all of them use the same online licensing company, MusicNet, for their files so the selection is virtually the same on all of the subscription services. It's really a matter of how well the software offered by the provider integrates with your portable player and the quality of the UI.
Hi - somewhat related question about previously purchased (prior to my Zune) wma files form MSN Music store:
I expected Zune to automatically add my purchased .wma format songs (about 70 of them) to the Zune library. It did not happen. The My Music folder where these songs are stored was automatically stored in the Zune Library, however it will not recognize/add the songs to the Zune Library.
I tried burning a few songs from the MS Windows Media player, and ripping them back to the Zune library and this did work somewhat - the files can be played and synced with the device, but for the majority the album/artist/song info does not come over - it all shows as unknown.
Zune support was not helpful. I checked the license properties on all the songs and all can be played, burned and synched unlimited number of times
Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated
Just how large is their music library? My biggest concern with online music stores has always been that I perceive them as having all of the new "hot" artists who are receiving lots of radio play, but nothing that I'll actually be interested in paying to listen to. I'd be extremely disappointed if I signed up for a service and discovered that their music collection doesn't include anything that hasn't made the Top-40 lists.
...and if you've ever used Napster, Yahoo, or Rhapsody, you'll know that "stable" isn't really a word you'd use to describe using their software. I prefer the Zune experience the best so far for a subscription service, although I still find iTunes a cleaner interface overall.
Just how large is their music library? My biggest concern with online music stores has always been that I perceive them as having all of the new "hot" artists who are receiving lots of radio play, but nothing that I'll actually be interested in paying to listen to. I'd be extremely disappointed if I signed up for a service and discovered that their music collection doesn't include anything that hasn't made the Top-40 lists.
The MusicNet library, which most of them use, is pretty large. In addition to the top 40 stuff you would expect, they also have a good selection of alternative and older tracks. I've found a lot of alt-country and alternative/punk rock albums that I like. The only things really lacking from the library are titles on indie labels that haven't contracted with them yet, titles that have conflicts between copyright holders and titles by certain major acts that have a luddite and/or greedy streak when it comes to online music.
