so what are the chances that the responses in this thread will stay on-topic? Any bets?

;)

I'd like to be able to search for JUST podcasts in the marketplace, but there isn't a way. When I type a keyword in the search box, the search results are for all songs and podcasts in the marketplace or in my library. I'd like to JUST be able do a keyword search (perhaps select a category: i.e. "comedy") and the search results are JUST the podcasts in the marketplace.

This goes for a marketplace music search too. I'd like to be able to do a keyword search, select a genre and any other ways to limit my search and find ONLY songs in the marketplace.

in the old zune software, i'd find new music by checking waht you added each week. this view is gone however.. just limited to the few albums that make it to the front page.. i miss seeing the whole list each week, it was a great way to surf through and find things.. now i need to go to other sources to figure out what i should be searching for..

I found the band Paramore on Zune marketplace and love em. In fact I'd be interested in most any band with female vocalist. I rely on the recommended bands you highlight as there is too much to sort through.

How come I can't search on sex?

Q: How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace?

A: I have a Zune Pass, so it is just whatever I feel like.

Q: What factors go into that?

A: What I feel like listening too.

Q: How do you find music in Zune Marketplace?

A: I usually know what I want and search for it.

Q: What about podcasts?

A: I usually know the feed URL.  But sometimes I'll browse through the available podcasts by category and sorted by name.

Q: What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?  

A: It is usually just based on what I hear.

Q: What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

A: I think the navigation is great!  It's easy to find what I want.

- MP3 would be my first priority, as I want my music collection to be working on most of the electronics that i use, and then the Points (ofcourse :)), points system based on the popularity of the song etc. I might like a song which is not so popular and so lower price ;)

- I currently search to find artists/albums which i get from friends. A better integration of Zune Social and Marketplace would be kool, to have a list of recommendations based on my taste and my friends taste.

- podcasts to Zune Social!?

- Navigation is easy and straight forward, but with minimal feature set. Would like to have better features like better playlist, tag editing etc.

• How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

A) I don’t buy music from ZMP. I have bought a few music videos. However I have subscription music and if I really do like music and find myself going back to it over and over I buy the CD. Unless lossless format is offered I don’t think I will ever buy music online.

• How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

A) For ZMP I search the artist. In fact most of the time its artist and seldom songs.

• What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?  

A) I think what you are talking about is discovery. To my surprise I have not used related artist feature in ZMP. However I have found songs through my friend’s Zune Social place or through their tags. I generally check out their fav or highest plays. I think placing the related artist section for my already downloaded content will help instead of just online content. Playlists have helped too. I do find myself looking at playlists. Also when I am reading the album review, the links in them which point to earlier album or some different artist is also helpful. I think I end up clicking those because those artists have been placed in context to some extent. I mean I read about them during album review so I am more inclined to click them. I was wondering if in related artist it would be a good it’s to place a small introduction for each artist.

B) For Podcasts I have been looking at different category but my primary source has been searching the net through Google. I think you need to put more content up front. Have more charts and sub category.

• What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

A) Navigation is fine but one thing I miss the most is when the content used to filter itself while I was typing. That was really cool. And what’s up with not being able to past through mouse in the Search box. That drives me crazy because a lot of time I copy an artist name and then I have to use my keyboard to paste it.

B) I hope you are able to place top 10 single and artist for each genre. So when I click on Electronica I can get top ten of electronica over there.

Hope this helped

Q1. How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

A1. If it's a band I don't know well, it pretty much comes down to the sound clips.  I read the reviews when they're available.  For known artists, it comes down to cost - I'll price check against both the physical CD and the Amazon MP3 store.  Because of metadata issues (brought up in the last poll) I'm leaning toward the Amazon Mp3 store - I still have albums purchased from ZMP that slipt into two or three different 'ablums.'  It's very annoying.

Q2. How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

A2. Music: artist searching and browsing the "related" artists.

Podcast: browsing them by category and 'most subscribed.'

Q3. What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?

A3.  I buy Paste Magazine, which comes with a CD (often features the same songs offered in ZMP for free).  I read MP3 blogs and, again, listen to a lot of song clips.

Q4. What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

A4.  Navigation is great, though I wish there was more to customize what music I see on the main page based on previous purchases.  I still think there's a lot more that comes out in a given week than can be easily accessed in ZMP, so customization would help some.

   * How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

I don't purchase things from the zune marketplace, Microsoft points are a terrible idea, and I would never use them. Also, I don't know how to transfer the few extra points I was able to buy into my new account.

   * How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

Podcasts, I simply search by genre... find sports/comedy.

   * What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?

Generally, I find them with either the "free tracks" or occasionally of other member's social cards. More commonly though, it's simply off the radio.

   * What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

I don't buy from it, but I've noticed it's quite easy to locate what I want, although the software in general runs pretty slow(although i recently sped it up by turning the useless flash effects off) so it takes time. It's simply, and clean... although music video's would be nice to have.

I might as well drop my 2 cents in.

1. How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

While I haven't yet purchased anything from Zune Marketplace the main factor that would ultimately decide if I did make a purchase is if the content was in MP3 format or, more specifically, DRM-free.  If it has DRM I will skip over it without a second thought.  The Marketplace has a decent selection of MP3 content right now but needs to be expanded quite a bit.  In fact, if all of the music I've looked for on the Marketplace were in MP3 format I would have already bought several albums.

2.  How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

Primarily by search.  I'm usually looking for something specific when I go to the Marketplace and I want to get to it the quickest way possible.

3.  What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?

When browsing through bands I like, having similar artists listed on the same page helps quite a bit, like what Last.fm and emusic do.  I also find out about new bands by speaking with other people with similar tastes in music as me.

4.  What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

I haven't really found anything wrong with the navigation so far in the Marketplace, however I use search 90% of the time anyway so I haven't used the other navigation options that often.

How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?  Most of the music I buy from Marketplace I've heard somewhere else, like XM, I often use the "similar artists" feature, but I find it is not always as accurate as it could be

How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?  I browse the podcasts categories, sometimes I use the search feature for podcasts

What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?  I rarely find new music on Marketplace, well I rarely look for it on Marketplace, I find most of my new music on XM, and then I use the search feature on Marketplace

What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace?  Again, I use the search feature, and then choose the artist or song I'm looking for

How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?  Could be better, specially search results, characters are too small, but maybe that's just me

1)I will search Mp3s first

2)if Zune doesn't have it then I will check Amazon mp3 lately they have it.

3)if neither have it then I will zune pass it.

4) new music is usually discovered via the social.

I just posted it in another thread and am posting again. Sorry if you have read it before:

Just had another idea.

1. What about a section for coming soon. Lets hype up some coming soon albums. Better still lets follow development of an album.

2. How about digg like feature. Let user comment and hype up a song, artist, playlist or album. That would be cool. You can move artist up and down based upon the chatter.

3. How about this. In order to discover you guys can introduce a feature which takes user on a ride. A small journey. For example I select Spoon as journey then a song from Spoon can start playing and while the song plays the ZMP has a slide show going on with artist info, influences etc. As the song end take the user to next artist who is in some way related to Spoon like Interpol (I picked up the name from related to) and now the slide show changes to information about them. This can go on to next artist which could have influenced Interpol and so on. That’s would be great. And slide show can be made to look cool with some good information.

Hey…just a though.

• How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

If I cant find anyone who already has the album to let me borrow and I cant find any other place to get the music (that would usually be because the band isnt well known) I’d but it off of Zune Marketplace.

• How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

Well I usually just lurk around the net for new artists, if I find an artist I like, I just use the search on the top left to search for material by that artist.

• What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?  

See above (I usually just lurk around the net for new artists)

• What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

Well I usually just use the search so I dont use the navigation much. Sorry =/

Ah yes, MP3 is a priority as well. If its not MP3, I'll just lurk around amazon or the artist's official website.

I 2nd the request for a search feature to limit search results to only MP3 formated music. I recently received a gift certificate to another music service and I wished they had such a search option.

I feel the marketplace is currently really nice, I pay monthly so there's mp3s and price don't currently bother me.  The thing that I feel needs work on right now is the social aspect, more details in the plays and related artists and things like (last.fm) :D

Alright here are my answers in order:

Q. How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

A. First DRM then quality. I only buy DRM free music and nothing under 256.

Q. How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

A. I often use the "similar artist feature at the bottom of band bios. I usually search for podcasts I am already aware of.

Q. What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?

A. Mostly word of mouth and through reviews online/magazine/blogs.

Q. What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

A. I think you have the navigation nailed down pretty good. I have yet to find myself frustrated or wondering how to find something.

I hope this helps.

Q #1: How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

A #1: I have a zune pass, so its usually spur of the moment (related to music discovery) more than set purchasing plans.

Q #2: How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

Q #3: What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?

A #2+3: I find podcasts through other podcasts. Music I find via the Slacker Desktop client. Much like FM radio- its great for music discovery, and a feature like it would be a amazing addition to the zune marketplace and I assume easy to setup…

Q #4: What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

A #4: Navigating the zune marketplace is absolutely better than that on itunes, but I still feel there is room for improvement, the biggest flaw with the zune software is that if feels sluggish on all my computers, no matter how high the specs.

-----------

Bottom line: put in better music discovery ability's, make the software less sluggish.

i would love a forward button when navigating in the marketplace...

If I could just make a quick comment on what I think would help improve the Marketplace over everything else and that's having a way to just look for the DRM free Mp3 music you have on there. It would be nice to have that or at least a list of what the new albums that are out in this format are.

Now to answer your questions: 1.)I use the marketplace with my Zune Pass and use it to check out new music before I purchase. 2.) I do a search by band name and/or by album name. Have never had a problem finding what I want as long as it's in the Marketplace. 3.) I tend to use the Social part of the Marketplace and look at what others are listening too and find new bands that way.  Have found alot of really great bands this way, that I would never have listened too otherwise. 4.) Navigation within it can be a bit confusing for someone new to stores like this, as for me I find it adequate for finding what I need to do.

1. If I feel that the song is really good, and worth some of the few points I have left, I go for it.

2. I usually find music by searching for it of course. If I hear a song I like on TV or the radio, I try to search for show on TV.com to find the music that went with it OR type the lyrics I remember into Live search.

Maybe you guys can make a lyrics search engine? Or include scrollable lyrics with music for an extra nickel?

3. I'm more of a person that listens to just music that sounds good. I could care less about the person who made it. I'm not a podcasting person.

4. I think navigating through ZM is super easy. Far fluid and faster than iTunes. I just search and the results are divided up very well and easy to go through.

I just wish the Zune team would listen to its users and bring the fluid Zune Marketplace and Zune device syncing stuff over to WMP 11. Many people still prefer and love to use WMP 11, and this coming from Microsoft, I would expect more. Just update WMP 11 for better Zune support. That's all.

When I buy music I basically run down a list of places looking for the first place with a DRM-free version, in this order: Marketplace, eMusic, Amazon.  If I can't find it at any of those stores I don't buy it.  Availability of DRM-free is pretty much the #1 factor.  Price doesn't really matter since most places vary little, except emusic which I try to support since it's a bit more indie.

I usually discover new music via music podcasts, in fact the BBC has some excellent ones.  Also I'll check out what's on the Marketplace landing page and Pandora has also been an awesome way for me to discover new tunes.

I'd give Marketplace navigation a B+, it's very easy to move around if you know what you're looking for but the discoverability aspect feels a little... cold and not very organic.  Sharing of playlists, being able to e-mail playlists, guest editorals vs. guest playlists for a bit depth would help.

Just an idea for the zune software and zune. I think it would be great if it was possible to remotely control the zune from the computer (In the case of a zune sitting on its dock connected to a hi-fi system). Controlling the zune from the computer doesn't necessitate any additional hardware and the wifi connection is fast enough because all the data are on the zune and the zune is directly connected to the hifi. I don't see any reason why this could not be possible and I think it would make the current versions of the zune even more cool.

Is is MP3?  If yes, then buy.

Not MP3?  Then does emusic or amazon.com have it?  If they do, then buy from them, if not then buy from zune marketplace.

Marketplace navigation is pretty good.  One feature I would like is some sort of bookmarking for favorites, with notification when new material is available.  Another would be some sort of "save for later" feature that would allow me to save up some songs for future purchase.  Of course, the ability to search only within songs that are DRM free MP3s would be very helpful as well.  In addition, DRM songs should be marked with their format (WMV) on the album like the ones on MP3 albums.

I used to grab single tracks from sites like this and ioda.promonet using wget, have the MP3's saved to a directory with an auto-playlist that was everthing in that directory.  Then when the mood hit me I could jump on the playlist and listen to new music with 100% automation.

 This allowed me to find very cool artists like the Shanghai Restoration Project, and Dengue Fever.  In both cases I then went out and got legal.

 But with auto-playlists gone, my hands-off solution no longer works, the tracks are not easily available to quickly reference in the Zune.  Losing auto-playlists has actually caused me to listen to more of the stuff I already have and not get exposure to the new stuff.  It's a shame really...

 Some may say I am lazy, but having the entire process automated with a wireless synch is exactly what I was looking forward to.

* How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

Zune Pass holder so not really applicable to me.

* How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

80% of the time through search.

20% by just browsing the categories and subcategories.

Don't really listen to podcasts.

* What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?

In order from most used to least used...

Friends reccomendations, Pandora, radio, musicplasma.com, amazon reccomendations, Zune marketplace new/noteworthy.  I would love to see something like the smart-shuffle shown at MS Techfest be integrated to the marketplace and give me reccomendations based on either a particular song/album or my entire collection.

* What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

Navigation is easy if I know exactly what I want, I can just search.  But If I'm just browsing it's not that great.  Would love to see more sort options, alphabetical being the prime one.  When browsing through a subcategory I'll want to check out an album, when I hit back, the marketplace doesn't remember where in the list of Albums/Artists I was so I have to scroll all the way down and try and remember what the picture looked like.  If there was at leat an alphabetical sort I could just scroll down to the artist.

How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace?

I have a Zune Pass so I don't typically purchase additional tracks unless they aren't available via Zune Pass.  If that's the case, I will seek out DRM-free versions - from Zune Marketplace, Amazon, or even (god-forbid) iTunesPlus.  There are also a bunch of indie stores I search out.

What factors go into that?

See above.

How do you find music in Zune Marketplace?

Most often I know what I'm looking for and search for an artist, album, or song.

What about podcasts?

Most often, I input the URL straight into Zune software.  I review the front page of the podcast marketplace occasionally.

What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?  

Mostly it comes from sources outside of Zune.  I also browse the "Related"  section of the artist page, occasionally.

What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

Pretty easy.  I wish there was a comprehensive "new releases"  page however.

How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

Must be MP3 format. I have found myself

How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

I always use the basic search feature for both.

What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?

I usually just here about new artists elsewhere and the do a search.

What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

The navigation is fine, the back button is saves you from everything.

   * How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

Points system keeps me out.  I can drop into Amazon.com and make even one 99 cent purchase by credit card easily with zero fuss.

   * How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

I use marketplace only for podcasts- and the navigation is clean and simple.

   * What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that? Zuneinsider, and zunetracks

   * What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?  Podcasts = easy.  

You really have to know what you are looking for, and enter it into search. There is no way to really browse the marketplace. I liked when I could go in and just browse through the new stuff only. That is how I used to find things I wouldn't usually find or hear any where else. I tend to be a spontaneous shopper, when I hear something I like I buy it. So not being able to easily browse makes it harder for me.

I don't buy anything from the Zune Marketplace. I have a Zune Pass and I use that exclusively. If something is not available for download with a Zune Pass, I don't bother with it. I have used the Zune Marketplace to find new music before, but not really since the new version rolled out, so I can't really comment on that aspect of it. I don't really listen to podcasts either, although every once in a while I will browse the podcast section and I find it very easy to use. I have absolutely no complaints about navigation within the Zune Software. It works great.

The only suggestion I can think of off the top of my head is this: I would love for there to be a way to tag artists I like so that anytime new music by that artist is added, I would be notified the moment I log on to the software. That would be awesome.

How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

- As I have a Zune Pass, not really a factor.  Honestly, I think "purchasing" online music (i.e. permanent download) is silly.

How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

- I'm a very focused user, with very particular tastes.  So I come in knowing what I want.  Artist searches.

What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?

- Unfortunately, I need to rely on non-Zune sources for that.  The Marketplace is entirely too mainstream focused.  I wish the editorial spoke to me, but it REALLY doesn't.  

What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

- A few suggestions...1) label search.  Or actually, you don't even need to make it "searchable"...but rather, make it linkable.  That is, if I pull up a Genghis Tron record, I should be able to click "Relapse" in the label field and see all other artists on Relapse Records.  Additionally, there should be a feature that allows for complete new release browsing (an RSS feed of all new releases would RULE), and there should be more customized Marketplace features.  Such as, say, if an artist in my collection releases something new, I'm alerted to that fact.

All in all, I LOVE Zune.  But just some thoughts...

How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

Zune Pass, never purchased music

How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

I usually know what I want, so the search works fine for me with music I already know about

What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?

I find Zune marketplace hard to find new music in.  I would like to see what others listen to that also listen to my music.  I also will look at the "Related" area to see what sounds like these guys.  I would actually like to have radio or something that just plays through a playlist of recommended music.

What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

Navigation is pretty easy.  I wouldn't say it couldnt improve, but its definately not confusing.

How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

> The main factor for me, is the content I'm interested being sold in a way that allows me to enjoy it on a Media Center/Extender, Windows Home Server and Windows Mobile.  I want the comfort of knowing that it simply works and that means sticking with DRM free content.  Although I would have no problem purchasing DRM content if it worked across Microsoft's other platforms.

How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

> I search & drill down for the artist/album I want.

What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?  

> Grammy's and other "Best New Artist" awards, Movie Soundtracks and TV Shows (American Idol, Don't Forget the Lyrics).  I also sometimes learn about music or recall a band that forgot about when we get together for karaoke everynow and then.

What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

> Its okay..I wish there was a better way of filtering for certain decades.  And I wish Zune had a more fun way of navigating albums.  iTunes has Coverflow.  I think Zune devices, Zune software, Media Center/Extenders and Windows Mobile should all have a shared UI experience.

I find it very nice to find new bands using the related artists part. I like how it has the bands that influence that artists as well as related artists.

I wish that when you are looking at music through a genre it was more accurate with that artist.

i.e. Linkin Park is the top artist for Indie/Modern rock.

Also I've notice recently that some songs are put on different albums.

For example when I downloaded Jimi Hendrix Are you Experienced? It put some of the songs on the album titled Are You Experienced? and some songs on the album titled Are You Experienced?(US Release). So I can't listen to an album all the way through. I've tried to change the properties, but it still won't work.

Overall the marketplace it pretty top notch.

   * How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

With my Zune Pass, I just grab whatever looks interesting.

   * How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

I do searches for artists or track titles. I don't look for podcasts on the ZMP, I get the feeds from the owner's sites.

   * What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?

Lately I've been grabbing the featured albums and podcasts that are displayed on the ZMP's home screen.

   * What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

It is easy enough. I don't have any significant issues navigating the ZMP.

Slightly-related comments:

When I right-click on an album or song in my collection, I would love for a "Go to Artist on ZMP" option. It saves me from typing that artist's name in the search bar.

If I only have one or two tracks from an album, an option to "Complete This Album" would be great.

Some albums have tracks that do not fall under the Zune Pass. When I drag the album's cover to the Zune icon (initiating a download of the entire album), it asks me to buy the non-Pass tracks. If I choose not to buy them, the entire download fails. I have to hit download, then switch to my collection and drag the album to the Zune icon. It is a minor thing, but it would nice to not go through the extra effort.

My main prolem has been with sending a new podcast to the marketplace.  I have been a ipod owner forever.  finally got turned onto a zune and love it.  I am even trying to convert my friends over but I have one major problem.

I am also a podcaster and really enjoy it.  I have been trying for months to get my podcast on the marketplace to no avail.  there is a realllllllllllly horrible submission process (basically non-existent) , no way to check on a submission, and no feedback if its rejected as to why.  on itunes its very up front, on the marketplace its , well, frusterating.

I had my podcast on itunes in under a day from my time of submission, been trying since december or so to submit it to the marketplace, still not there, and not a single email as to why.... but then again, the marketplace doesnt have a PLACE for me to put in a email addr so that makes communication pretty difficult doesnt it.

help a podcaster out, have someone fix this (pretty please :)

Q: How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace?

A: Zune Pass.  I love the 'all I can eat' option.

Q: What factors go into that?

A: The music itself.  The artist, the arrangement.  

Q: How do you find music in Zune Marketplace?

A: I don't even try to search Zune Marketplace.  The organization is crap, and functionality has been tossed aside for the artsy UI.  I like the UI, but it's not very functional.  Generally, I know what I'm looking for before I even open the marketplace.

Q: What about podcasts?

A: Forget it.  I use iTunes to find podcasts, I subscribe to them in iTunes.  I then point Zune's collection folder to the iTunes folder, and when it shows up in Zune, I subscribe again.  A lot of work? yes.  But Zune's podcast directory is the most jumbled, thrown together mess I've ever seen.  It took me hours to find the CNET podcast I wanted in Zune, in iTunes I was there in a few clicks.  Needs work.

Q: What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?  

A: Someone further up the comment section mentioned the feature in the old client where you could find a list of newly added or released music.  I miss that too.  Trying to find just released albums, like She & Him which was released this week, is impossible.  If I didn't have a subscripton to the AMG Newsletter, I'd never have known that this album was released.

Q: What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

A: Navigation sucks.  Search is good, though not as good as it used to be in the old client.  Trying to drill down through the categories is horrible.  The 'front' pages of each section only show a handful of albums in that category, when I know there are hundreds of albums.  I will admit that the 'related' feature on each Artist's page is great for finding new artists for me.  The Artist's pages are great, but the navigation is seriously lacking.  Thank god there's a search option or I'd never find what I was looking for.

* How do you make the decision to purchase something from Zune Marketplace? What factors go into that?

A: I've never purchased anything from the Zune Marketplace.  Call me old-fashion, but I still enjoy having a hard-copy of everything I purchase.  I just don't like the idea of purchasing data...and the Sound Quality is still better in CD form.  

However, if I were to purchase from the Marketplace, factors that would go into include:

1. Hearing 30+ seconds of each track (preferably a minute) to know whether or not I'll enjoy it.

2. Quality of the download (mp3 or WMA -- 320 kbps or LOSSLESS would be preferred)

3. Being able to purchase music in actual DOLLARS and not Microsoft Points.  This is probably a round-table discussion over and over with the zune team, but I will NEVER purchase music from the Zune Marketplace when it can be purchased elsewhere for dollars.  I simply won't take the extra effort to use a Microsoft Points to dollars converter tool when I can go elsewhere (amazon or itunes) and purchase something with actual dollars.  (On this note, my friends who won't switch from an ipod to a zune, even though they prefer the 80gb zune device, have the same opinions...and this is the #1 reason why they refuse to make the switch.)

4. Having a zune marketplace subscription to own music (and not just rent it) would definitely have me in the marketplace on a regular basis.

* How do you find music in Zune Marketplace? What about podcasts?

A: Generally, I know what I'm looking for so I'll do a search for the specific artists.  However, I will sometimes search through a genre just to get ideas from bands I haven't heard.

* What about finding new artists/bands/podcasts to listen to – how do you do that?

A: Almost every time I hear of a 'new artist' or something else I've never heard, I hear it by word of mouth or on other online forums, and maybe a a magazine add, not the zune marketplace.

* What about the navigation within Zune Marketplace? How easy is it to navigate to the content you want?

A: I haven't experienced in troubles.  But again, I still generally purchase albums in CD form.  However, as the culture continues shifting into other directions, I will plan to do the same. I imagine that within the next year or so, I'll be purchasing almost all of my music online (but again, only if I can do it with actual DOLLARS.)

I own a Zune, but I don't buy music from the Zune Marketplace. I buy them from Amazon mp3.  

Why?  Because they don't make me buy some stupid points in bulk.  I use U.S. currency.  Plus they have mp3s and they're 256kbps---and still way cheap.  

Who is running this Zune Marketplace show?  Get a freakin' clue.  Amazon will take you down eventually unless you don't meet the reasonable demands of your consumers.

I don't purchase from zune marketplace. I won't purchase any music with DRM (music DRM is dying..why buy an outdated, unpopular system). Don't believe in renting music (zune pass). I'm too lazy and unwilling to download amazon software to purchase from there. I'm waiting till Zune marketplace drops prices and drops DRM. Till then I've pretty much stopped buying music. I know there are mp3s for some albums on ZM but its a pain in the ass to find which albums are mp3's. ZM needs a mp3 section or search feature for it.

Finding new artists...I'll go on zune social and search for bands and see who you recommend as similar, then listen to the clips. If I like it enough, I'll go buy the CD...but that's rarely. I have to really like it.

Podcasts were exciting at first but good podcasts are few and far between. Stopped really searching for them.

Really need better way to get videos on the zune. If you open up rentals in the ZM, since the zune has only a 3 inch screen make them dirt cheap!! if its the same price structure as xbox rentals..forget it. Why pay big money for low quality video.

In all honesty...just put some effort into marketplace integration into the xbox360 and updating features on the software.

I used to buy music from the Zune marketplace but now that I've discovered Amazon's digital music downloads, I buy them instead. Why? Well, for one, they only sell unprotected MP3s and have a much larger catalog than the Zune store. Secondly, they're cheaper as sometimes songs cost $.89 and the artists sets the Albums price so I was able to grab NIN's last 36 track album for $5.

The biggest thing for me is they sell much higher bitrate MP3s than anyone else. They start at 256-bit and sometimes go up to 320-bit.

I will never buy form the Zune store again until it's entirely MP3 based and they are higher quality.

1) The two factors are first, if the content is free on my ZunePass. That's basically the deciding factor. Second factor is whether I like the music or not. The final factor is if it's a popular song.

2) For music, I look at the Top Songs list and the banners in all of the genres (which in my opinion, are not updated enough). Or else I just decide based on a friend telling me to get it.

For the Podcast's I either know what I'm looking for, or use the genre to narrow it down.

3) I either have a friend recommend one to me, or more commonly I look at what the Zune Marketplace recommends and the banners that get posted.

4) It's fairly easy to navigate. I really don't have any issues. Though one thing I want in the software is to right-click on artists I have in my collection and be able to go to their Marketplace page to get more music from them.