Some awesome news has come out that if you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, you can keep 10 free (non-DRM) songs per month. That’s like almost a whole CD, or a free $10 in the form of songs.
Considering the Zune Pass costs $14.99 a month, that’s a real bargain. $14.99 – $10.00 (roughly the Zune Pass cost) = $4.99. So you really save quite a lot.
Also, the Zune Pass differs from your usual subscription service with:
- Fun to navigate – I find the fluid interface to be super easy to navigate with, and I love the beautiful pictures of artists in the background, the ease of just pressing download and having it go straight to your collection just like that, and to me, it’s just like the best online store to navigate. iTunes Store really sucks in comparison (well except the content…)
- Podcasts – Most other services don’t even had podcasts. iTunes has much more, but as more podcasters start allowing their podcasts to be available on Zune, we’ll see even more selection to choose from.
- Channels – Music pros make a playlist of great new songs you might like, and you can subscribe to each or any one of them. They’re constantly updated and Zune Pass only.
- Picks – Recommendations based on the music you play. There’s a new “Perfect 10s” Pick, that shows 10 must-have tracks in each popular genre.
So you really can’t go wrong with a Zune Pass. However, only Zune devices work with the Zune Pass. Not a bad trade off, considering Zunes are great music players. Also, there’s no rollover – You have to get the 10 tracks within the month, any leftovers won’t pass on. Also worth noting, 90% of the 4+ million songs available on Zune Marketplace is DRM-free MP3’s. If you have a Zune or planning to buy a Zune, the Zune Pass would be a great complement to the Zune.
Zune devices also just got significantly cheaper, if you’re worried about making the switch.
Macrosoft 