Zune Insider

Zune’s Best of 2011 Podcasts List

1)  On the Verge (Video)
2)  Here’s The Thing – WNYC
3)  Mohr Stories – Smodcast.com
4)  The Jillian Michaels Show
5)  Freakonomics Radio
6)  StarTalk
7)  This American Life
8)  TEDTalks (Video)
9)  WNYC’s Radiolab
10)  this Week in TECH
11)  The Adam Carolla Podcast
12)  Peter B Collins Show
13)  TERRA: The Nature of Our World
14)  The Nerdist
15)  Onion News Network
16)  We’re Alive – A “Zombie” Story
17)  Girl on Guy with Aisha Tyler
18)  Buzz Report HD
19)  The Rest of Everest
20) WTF with Marc Maron
21)  99% Invisible

Visit the Best of 2011 Podcast page in Zune Marketplace on the PC

Our team in Australia just announced that Zune Music Marketplace and Zune Music Pass will launch November 16 with a music catalog of more than 11 million tracks available for purchase in MP3 format. Zune Music Pass will also be available for $11.99 per month or $119.90 annually and can be used on Xbox 360, Windows Phone, Windows PC and Zune.net. In addition, Zune Music Pass subscribers will have unlimited streaming access to tens of thousands of music videos through the Zune PC software and on Xbox 360 later this year.

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 111 dated April 8th, 2011 of the Zune Insider Audio Podcast is now live and is hosted by Matt Akers (skipdeez) and Jessica Zahn (jetherealz).

Show notes:
We missed each other the last two weeks! (0:00 – 2:49); Zune HD gets more apps! (2:50 – 5:05); Matt gives Jess kudos (5:06 – 10:23); April Fools Day at Microsoft is awesome (10:24 – 17:14); New guest John Randolph discusses new features in the Music Marketplace and brings music recommendations (17:15 – 24:11); Marco is out, but Jess and Matt talk movies – Tron Legacy, Black Swan, and the Fighter (24:12 – 28:35); James is out, but emailed us TV recommendations – The Killing, The Hard Times of RJ Berger, and The Kennedys (28:36 – 32:03); Podcast Rob Greenlee (@robgreenlee) recommends This is My New Podcast and WTF with Marc Maron and Conan O’Brien (32:04 – 37:33);  Live inbox! (37:34 – end) .

The mp3 file is 33 MB and runs for a 48 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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