Microsoft seems to be on a roll with new product and service releases as of late, and now it looks like the company may also be turning its collective eye towards what they can do with music.

Peter Bale, executive producer of MSN, the news and entertainment portal for Microsoft,  spoke with The Telegraph about what the company has planned when it comes to music.  Mr. Bale said that the Zune product line has taught them a lot about the industry, and now it appears they are going to turn that knowledge into some form of streaming music service possibly the end of the month.

While the details of the subscription portin of the service was sketchy, Mr. Bale did mention the possability of using Spotify as an example of what they may do.  For those unfamiliar with the Spotify business model, it is a UK based music service that offers free streaming of music so long as you listen to an advertisement.  If you want to turn off the ads you do have the option of paying £9.99 a month to do so.  While Mr. Bale said that Microsoft was still examaning various business models, his specific mention of this particular choice is probably a good indication of what consumers will see when it launches.

While the focus seems to be on the Zune product line, and no mention was made specifically of the new service being included with the Xbox 360 after it launches, it seems a rather safe bet that it will happen.  Microsoft has been aiming the popular gaming console into more of a family media center, and the addition of a streaming music service would certainly be another step in the direction.

While Mr. Bale simply said the release of the service was “imminent”, The Telegraph felt it may be the end of July, and other sources are saying early August.  Whatever the release date is, more details should be released soon.

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Entry was posted on Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 at 4:14 pm under Microsoft, Music.

Read more entries by Sean P. Aune.
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