(more than) One Store to Rule them All

[priesmeyer]

I have a dilemma. Like many, this Zune isn't my first mp3 player. I have a Portable Media Center (which I never should have bought but I did and I try and make the best ouf of it but I'm just not getting my return on investment) and my wife has a Sansa flash player for her running.

I love and rely on music subscription services to keep those devices full of a variety of music based upon whatever my whim is at the time. I subscribed to Yahoo music for a year and knowing that the Zune was coming, I didn't renew but I'm trying out Urge for a while.

Now that the Zune Marketplace is out, I'm learning that it isn't going to be a one-stop solution for all of my devices. ZM won't sync to my PMC or my wife's device at all. It doesn't even see them plugged in.

And, as we know, all the existing Plays for Sure music will not go onto the Zune. The Zune won't have it.

So, what Microsoft is forcing me to do is to continue the Urge service for my wife's Plays For Sure if I want to keep her pick-and-choose experience (which, believe me, I do- she's adapted quite well to it and doesn't want to lose it (she doesn't know yet)) and then I'd have to have the Zune subscription if I want to continue to have that user experience on the Zune.

Is that what everyone else is getting out of this? One sub for one device and another sub for all the others?

[Darius Wey]

Welcome to Zune Thoughts. :)

Basically, yes - the Zune ecosystem and PlaysForSure ecosystem are separate. For example, if you have an URGE or Rhapsody subscription, you can't transfer those tunes over to your Zune. Vice versa, if you have a Zune Pass, you can't transfer those tunes over to your PlaysForSure devices.

[Jason Dunn]

So, what Microsoft is forcing me to do is to continue the Urge service for my wife's Plays For Sure if I want to keep her pick-and-choose experience (which, believe me, I do- she's adapted quite well to it and doesn't want to lose it (she doesn't know yet)) and then I'd have to have the Zune subscription if I want to continue to have that user experience on the Zune.

I know - what a sucky choice to make, right? Microsoft has given you no good option here - other than what you pointed out, which is paying two subscriptions. Lame.

About the only thing I can think of that you COULD do is try the FairUse4WM (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=114916) on the URGE stuff, so download it, strip the DRM then put it on your Zune - that would be a manual, clunky process though. I believe that is an ethically correct action based on the fact that there's no good reason why both the Zune and the Sansa device can't share the same music.

[gshocker]

It does seem that there is no one solution for everything. Even if you get past the device and DRM issue there is the selection problem. Some stores have certain selections and others will not. I find iTunes to be missing some things that Zune has and Zune to be missing some things that I find on iTunes. I am sure this can be said for the other services out there.. For now it seems there is no real one stop shop for everything.

For now I will be forced to purchase some things on iTunes and use Zune for my subscription. I had been using Yahoo but their interface is bloaty and not as user friendly as the Zune Marketplace.

[priesmeyer]

I know - what a sucky choice to make, right? Microsoft has given you no good option here - other than what you pointed out, which is paying two subscriptions. Lame.

About the only thing I can think of that you COULD do is try the FairUse4WM (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=114916) on the URGE stuff, so download it, strip the DRM then put it on your Zune - that would be a manual, clunky process though. I believe that is an ethically correct action based on the fact that there's no good reason why both the Zune and the Sansa device can't share the same music.

In the car ride to work, that was pretty much the answer I came up with as well. I tried the FairUse4WM on my Yahoo sub a while back and it was pretty painless. I hate to resort to that but, you know, they're forcing my hand in this manner.

Thanks for the 2nd and 3rd opinions.

[Aaron Roma]

Of course you'll only have to do this until MS releases their Nano competator, then just upgrade your wife to the Zune Nation and be done with it! :)

[priesmeyer]

Good point. But I have two daughters who will be in line for the Sansa hand-me-down. Still no love. ;) Unless said "nano-knock off" is cheap enough.

Thanks for the feedback.