Microsoft has today opened the door to MSN Music, an ad-supported music streaming service with the option to purchase DRM-free tracks.
Originally expected to launch in July, MSN Music arrives some four months late, and remains at a beta stage. The service, launched as part of Microsoft's UK MSN portal, is available at downloads.music.uk.msn.com and offers around one million tracks from the four major record labels: EMI, Warner, Universal and Sony.
Despite delays in its arrival, MSN Music doesn't yet offer complete functionality. Consumers are able to purchase and download tracks, but a free ad-supported streaming service is currently only being offered to a select group of users invited to test the product.
Users choosing to purchase tracks, meanwhile, will find MSN Music's catalogue of around a million songs pales in comparison to the 10+ million tracks available on iTunes. Furthermore, MSN Music doesn't allow consumers to purchase music on a track-by-track basis. Instead, users are forced to purchase 10 credits at a time, priced at £7.99. One credit can then be used to purchase a single, whilst 10 will foot the bill for a complete album. Tracks are DRM-free and available in the MP3 or WMA format, encoded at 192 kbit/s.
Microsoft has confirmed that the technology behind MSN Music is taken form the U.S.-only Zune service, but adds that it isn't "a pre-cursor to Zune launching in the UK".
MSN Music is the latest in a long line of music-streaming services and arrives hot on the heels of a similar offering from BSkyB dubbed Sky Songs.
In related news, Microsoft has revamped its U.S. MSN portal. Although the new-look design isn't yet available to UK users, a preview can be viewed at msn.com/preview.
