Hey, remember Zune? Zune's dead, baby. Zune's dead Come November, Microsoft is killing off Zune – the very thing that was supposed to kill off the Apple iPod and iTunes. As you may be able to tell, that execution never came about. Redmond thrust its Zune music players at the world in 2006, and kept plugging away at the hardware and online music marketplace even though no one …
Well, they continued to support the Zune service for three years after they killed the Zune.
And instead of dumping the remaining customers (Shout out to Ballmer and his kids!), they're transferring them to an alternate service. Not too shabby.
Now, does the DRM'd stuff transfer as well if it's also on Groove*?
*Groove - Was that name meant to be ironic, or is MS really that out of touch with trends?
I was about to suggest that you can add 'That guy who got the Zune tattoo' to your list.
However, when I Googled him , it looks like he already jumped ship to Apple in 2008 and then got the tattoo covered up:
http://www.iphonesavior.com/2008/10/zune-tattoo-guy-makes-dick-cheney-the-devil.html
So yeah, I doubt anyone will even notice the death of Zune.
I did not know they were still using the Zune name. My Zune pass got transferred to a Xbox Music pass and now just recently to Groove.
As far a I can see I can still access all of the music I have purchased previously. Also the music I downloaded (but not purchased) under the Zune and Xbox still works.
Personally I am quite happy with the service no matter what they call it. £50 to £60 quid a year seems good to be able to stream and or download music to multiple devices.
I'm fully aware of the flack I will catch for this, but Zune is actually proof that Microsoft listen to their customers if they shout loudly enough.
They tried to get Zune to catch on by forcing Windows Phone 7 users to use it, instead of the old desktop ActiveSync app that Windows Mobile used, and everyone hated it. One of the best things in Windows Phone 8 was that they returned to USB sync.
Can't say anything about Zune as a product or even the streaming service, but the app made iTunes look usable.
WTF did 'Zune' actually MEAN…?! Tune spelt with a 'Z', I'm assuming, but it seemed pretty meaningless to me. Was MS hoping it'd take off and they'd be able to start talking about the Zuneiverse, and other such witticisms…? Perhaps if they'd given it a name beginning with any letter prior to 'I', they might've stood more chance…? Who am I kidding…?! The thing was shit.
Perhaps if Ballmer'd got there first, we'd all be saying the same about iPods, but somehow I doubt it - seems to me that, in many respects, MS is shit at marketing.
I seem to recall seeing one and the colour put me off - weren't they a kind of shit brown…? Perhaps if they'd come in a wide range of fashionable shades…
"Well, they continued to support the Zune service for three years after they killed the Zune."
Given the amount of resources a DRM server should require (basically none), three years is poor.
"And instead of dumping the remaining customers (Shout out to Ballmer and his kids!), they're transferring them to an alternate service. Not too shabby."
Yeah, they're transferring people from a service they signed up for to one they didn't, that does not support their device.
"Now, does the DRM'd stuff transfer as well if it's also on Groove*?"
Nope, per TFA, this supports XBoxes, Win10, ios, android, and Sonos. No Zune. And this is a "music for $x a month" service, not letting you buy music (which is just as well, since any music you bought would probably be deactivated in a few years anyway, when Microsoft got bored with this service and pulled the DRM servers for it.)
This provides a good object lesson in why you should make sure whatever you get is NOT in a rights restricted format. Anything bought and paid for from Microsoft for your Zune, you're screwed out of it now. Those MP3s you got... wherever... will continue to be moveable on and off the Zune and play fine on it.
As a matter of fact, according to the Microsoft CSA manager (and several CSAs) I spoke with yesterday, nothing is changing with the Zune subscription, aside perhaps from WIFI streaming (I'm guessing) and the fact that some "purchased" WMA files will not be playable. Almost all the purchased content I have is MP3s (still playable). Tracks can still be downloaded and synced for offline listening on the Zune, if you have a Microsoft Music/Groove subscription. It's only a rebranding. That's what they assure me.
When I check the status of my Microsoft account, it says Groove, yet I can still download subscription tracks and sync them using the Zune PC software. All my devices are listed; even 10 track credits expiring December 1 in the Zune software. Groove is playable on my PC through the web, too. I have Zune 64 Gb here, and it plays fine. I'll let you know otherwise; the DRM are likely to expire in a couple weeks without proper syncing.
I've been billed for another year - and if stays the same I'll keep it. Don't believe everything you read, I guess (and hope).
Subscription syncing till works for me. Plus I took advantage of the 3 month free trial of Groove, together with my adjusted annual subscription to have subscription service through Feb. 2017 for an additional $50 ($99 annual - prorated refunded portion). And 10 free downloads per month. Zune lives on!
Update from author of the last two posts. The 10 free downloads per month finally went away, but the virtually unlimited downloading of DRM subscription tracks and syncing with old school Zunes still work fine. The rate went down from $15 (with 10 downloads) to $10 (no downloads) so I'm still good with it. If I want permanent tracks, I use Emusic.
Another update. I've been using Zunes for past few months and have some more observations, for anyone interested.
The latest Zune software available here:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=27163
does work for downloading music for Groove Music subscribers (formerly Xbox Music, formerly Zune Pass), but does not allow streaming. My workaround on the two Windows 10 PCs I've installed the Zune software on is to use Groove to stream and make choices about which tracks to download for offline listening and syncing with my Zune, then use the Zune software to download and sync. You can have Zune software installed (and Groove operational) on two different PCs and sync with two different mobile devices including Zunes. You can delete PCs and/or Zunes but only after 30 days of deleting another. So it's not as practical to use with more than two computers or Zunes (works with Windows mobile phones, too), but it's very practicable for two PCs/Zunes, a total of four devices capable of listening to offline music.
The change is going from three PCs and three Zunes, so there is a reduction in service, but the price is only like $10/month, $99/year, and the Zune HD device interface is great. What other portable devices allow you to listen to offline music on a subscription basis?
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