Zune Thoughts: Zune Pass: Not Always Perfect

“This post has nothing to do with the Zune device itself as I really like my Zune and enjoying listening to it, but has more to do with the state of digital music. I have a Zune Pass which means that for a certain amount of money each month I am renting the music. I like this over having to buy everything in my collection as it allows me to try out songs and albums I might never take a chance on otherwise. It also provides a steady stream of money to the music business since I am not likely to purchase these albums anyway. The problem is that the record labels can pull the rights to the music at any time. On Friday I was driving home from work, and plugged my Zune into my car stereo system. I quickly discovered that a large amount of the music I listen to has be pulled from the Zune Marketplace. On my Zune itself I get a message that, "The item is missing or can't be played."”

First of all, Dale, you work for Microsoft man! If you have a problem with something here shouldn’t you be coming up with a solution? Or talking to someone involved with the Zune? The problem here seems to be that sometimes the record labels pull the rights to have music be part of the Zune Pass scheme. Personally I’ve never experienced this but it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to hear that it happens. I still don’t think the music industry knows what it’s really doing in the electronic realm.

That said, Zune Pass users do need to keep in mind that we are simply renting the songs. Suggestions such as letting the Zune Pass users get the expiring songs at a discount or keep them after they aren’t generally available just isn’t realistic. While I understand Dale's frustration, the benefits of the Zune Pass still far outweigh issues like this.