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Music Biz Figures Into 360 Strategy

Posted by Zonk on from the must-take-apple's-pie dept.

C|Net has up a story discussing the thought processes on the Redmond campus, as they plan a way for the Xbox 360 to have a meaningful participation in the music market. Most likely, this will be through the upcoming Microsoft commercial download service. From the article: "The Xbox is widely viewed as a successful consumer product, and the new version will be more deeply integrated into home networks and digital living room systems. Making it a platform for digital music purchases or subscriptions could help solidify a consumer foundation that remains shaky."

2 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. Re:How does this make any sense??? by danzona · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I would be the last person to apologize or make excuses for MS, but it is logical for the Xbox to include music. I would make three points:

    1. The Xbox is not portable, so it is not really a competitor to the iPod.

    2. The Xbox comes with a hard drive, so it could easily be used to store music (MP3s only?).

    3. Many Xbox users hook their Xbox into their stereos to take advantage of games that have robust audio.

    It seems like using the Xbox to store music, whether it is purchased or rented, would take advantage of existing Xbox functionality and would be a nice feature for people who want to listen to music at home.

  2. Will DRM CDs be rippable? by RickPartin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Now that more and more CDs are now crippled copy protected versions, will the Xbox still be able to rip them? If not maybe people might start to wake up and get angry about fair use going down the toilet. Or perhaps I live in a fantasy world.