Zune Insider

Canada Zune Music Marketplace and Zune Music Pass

We are excited to announce that Zune Music Marketplace and Zune Music Pass will roll out in Canada on October 3rd, providing access to a growing music catalog of more than 14 million tracks from all the major labels, as well as tens of thousands of indie labels. Zune Music Pass will also be available for C$9.99 per month or C$99.90 annually and can be used on Xbox 360, Windows Phone, Windows PC, Zune devices and Zune.net.

Streaming Music Videos with Zune Music Pass

Zune Music Pass in the US and Canada will now include more than just unlimited music downloads and streaming – starting October 3rd subscribers can stream tens of thousands of music videos through the Zune PC software and later this fall on Xbox 360.

US Zune Music Pass Changes

On October 3rd, in the US, we will be introducing a new, lower priced version of Zune Music Pass at $9.99 per month. The plan will provide unlimited, on-demand access to more than 14 million songs and tens of thousands of music videos. Unlike the current Zune Music Pass offering, it will not include 10 MP3s to keep each month. In addition, as part of the new $9.99 offering, subscribers will be able to download songs and synchronize them on up to a total of four devices (1 PC + any combination of PC, Zune device and Windows Phone), and continue to enjoy unlimited access to streaming on Xbox 360 and on Zune.net.

Once the new Zune Music Pass offering is available, the $14.99 plan with 10 monthly MP3 credits will no longer be available to new subscribers. However, current subscribers can stay on their existing Zune Music Pass plan if they choose and will also have access to streaming music videos.

More news to come

A new music marketplace in Canada, Zune Music Pass changes in the US and the addition of music video streaming will continue to make it easier for you to enjoy entertainment on Xbox 360, Windows PC and Windows Phone.  Stay tuned to Zune Insider for more news.

Hey Zune Nation! We’ve got two awesome things that you need to know.

• If you live in Southern California, come out to the #MSMVP event at the Microsoft Store at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa this Saturday. Learn all about Microsoft technologies such as Zune, Xbox, Windows Phone and more – plus, there’ll be a raffle of awesome swag – and who doesn’t love swag? There’ll be lots of goodies and cool MVPs to chat with, so if you’re in the area, please come out and say hi!  Click HERE to register and get all the info.  We hope to see you out there, but if you can’t make it, we’ll be posting from the event via Twitter.
• There’s currently an awesome deal available from Zune, Windows Phone and AT&T. If you buy a Windows Phone from AT&T, you get a FREE 3 month Zune Pass! To celebrate that, we’re going to be running a contest over on Twitter for the next few weeks, and – wait for it – we’re giving away a few YEAR Zune Passes.  You read that right - YEAR ZUNE PASSES!  So if you want a chance to win, we suggest you get over to Twitter immediately… if not sooner.

Have a great weekend!

Zune Insider Episode 95 dated Nov 19th, 2010 of the Zune Insider Audio Podcast is now live and is hosted by Matt Akers (skipdeez) and Jessica Zahn (jetherealz).

Show notes:
It’s podcast 95, for real and we are going to talk about cool things, like Kinect, Windows Phone, and how we forgot how hard we had to work this summer (0:00 – 5:39); Finally Microsoft employees got their Windows phones – or not (5:40 -9:14);  Chill Paul Pearson talks music Monday (9:15 – 17:00); James Chott talks Rubicon, UFC, and issues with The Walking Dead (17:01 – 24:45); New guest Kris Kendall brings Zune movie recommendations (24:46 -30:22); Podcast Lead Rob Greenlee (webtalkrob) is thinking snowboarding and movie podcasts (30:23 – 36:15); No podcast next week (36:16 – 37:30); Tech talk: Windows Live ID issues (37:30 – 41:27); New apps for Zune HD! (41:28 – 43:21); Matt has an announcement! (43:22 – 44:16); New Zune forums – why? (44:17 – 47:12); Jess discusses a Zune Pass issue (47:13 – 48:40); Live inbox! (48:41 – end).

The mp3 file is 37 MB and runs for a 53 minutes. Subscribe to the podcast in the FREE Zune Marketplace 4.7 Media Player software here.  Download the audio file directly here - stream it

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Zune Insider Episode 80 dated Aug 6th, 2010 of the Zune Insider Audio Podcast is now live and is hosted by Matt Akers (skipdeez) and Jessica Zahn (jetherealz).

Show notes:
Matt leaves Jessica hanging! (0:00 – 2:00); Patents and the future! (2:01 – 5:10); Chunks of time and trips to Spokane! (5:11 – 8:04); Questions for users and a study of one, all about Bing integration! (8:05 – 13:33); Matt’s special sticker giveaway and regressions! (13:35 – 15:40); @ZuneSupport Now on Twitter and people with crazy hair in IEB! (15:41 – 20:35); Wonderful social experiences on Xbox and WP7 and new Zune HD apps! (20:36 –25:40); Stuff We All Get! (25:41 – 27:10); Music and video action! (25:42 – 34:13); Live inbox! (34:15 – end).

The mp3 file is 31 MB and runs for a 44 minutes. Subscribe to the podcast in the FREE Zune Marketplace 4.2 Media Player software here.  Download the audio file directly here - stream it

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Zune Insider Episode 78 dated July 23rd, 2010 of the Zune Insider Audio Podcast is now live and is hosted by Matt Akers (skipdeez) and Jessica Zahn (jetherealz).

Show notes:
The sound of your own voice and sippin’ on some sizzurp! (0:00 – 2:27) GDGT event in Seattle coming up on 7/27! (2:48 – 4:59);  MS-MVP event in Mission Viejo coming up on 7/31! (5:00 – 7:40); Matt’s political future in Zune and Seattle fashion oddities! (7:44 -8:45); Be wary of your privacy settings! (8:47 – 11:11); Zune HD and WP7 scenarios in REAL LIFE! (11:12 – 16:29); Zune Originals and Birthday wishes! (16:30 – 18:54); Reviewers get WP7 and Zune Software version 4.7! (18:55 – 23:43) Squashin’ rumors! (23:45 – 24:37); Zune on Xbox and gaming chat! (24:38 – 28:01); Live Inbox! (28:05 – end).

The mp3 file is 27 MB and runs for a 39 minutes. Subscribe to the podcast in the FREE Zune Marketplace 4.2 Media Player software here.  Download the audio file directly here - stream it

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