MSN Music reopens with Spotify rival and download store

 

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By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 4 Nov 2009 at 12:32

Microsoft has reopened the doors to its MSN Music store, with the launch of an online shop and a streaming service to rival Spotify.

The company says the beta download-to-own music store will feature more than a million tracks from major labels, with more music due to be added later. However, it is the trial version of a streaming service that marks a change of tactics.

“It's very similar to Spotify in the way it works, with features like personal playlist creation,” a Microsoft spokesperson told PC Pro.

The music streaming service will be tested on a limited basis, with MSN running a series of promotions on its website to give a select number of people access to the online jukebox.

Microsoft says it plans to fund the million-track streaming feature with display adverts, rather than annoying audio adverts that interrupt the music in most free streaming services.

Customers need to use a Windows Live ID to access the services, which the company says will also be integrated with the editorial content of the MSN Music channel.

Microsoft claims the download-to-own content will be free of Digital Rights Management (DRM), which should please subscribers that have previously been stung by Microsoft's DRM tactics.

Music downloaded from the previous incarnation of MSN Music came with copy protection, which users had to reauthorised each time they upgraded their computer. However, the DRM servers were deactivated last year, leaving users with no way of reactivating the files. Microsoft couldn't confirm whether the new store would remedy that situation.

Music from the new store will be paid for by a credits system, with £7.99 buying 10 tokens, and one song costing one coupon and a standard album costing 10 credits.