Microsoft seeking to rebrand Zune into Windows Live services

By Tom Warren, on 15th Feb 11 1:38 pm with 28 Comments

Microsoft is seeking to kill off the Zune brand according to reports.

Microsoft unveiled a strategic partnership with Nokia last week. The partnership is a long-term multi-faceted agreement that involves the combination of both company’s best assets. Microsoft revealed a slide of both company’s “global reach” which included products and services like Windows Live, Windows 7, Xbox, Bing, MSN and Office. Microsoft’s Zune services were left out of the slide for a reason.

Microsoft is currently planning to transition Zune over to a Windows Live service according to Paul Thurrott. The news that Zune services will move into Windows Live backs up the reason Microsoft recently reorganized the Zune team structure. Microsoft split the hardware and software Zune teams into separate units. Microsoft’s reorg ultimately points to the demise of the Zune brand over time. Separately, WinRumors has learned that Microsoft is planning to make use of Nokia’s Ovi services and blend these into Windows Live. Andy Lees, President of Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business, spoke at a financial analyst briefing during Mobile World Congress on Monday. Lees explained the Nokia deal. “It includes search revenue transfer, advertising revenue transfer, location-based services revenue transfer, royalty payments for software, and it includes joint marketing” said Lees.

Microsoft has been suspiciously quiet around Zune and Zune services over the past few months. The software giant’s Zune Video service gained over 50% more market share in 2010 compared to 2009, thanks to an international launch of the Zune Marketplace. Microsoft made Zune Video available in October to additional regions including Europe, Asia and Australia. Despite the expansion, Microsoft’s Zune services aren’t widely known outside of the United States. Microsoft’s marketing teams have spent little time and money on promoting Zune and the focus appears to be solely on Windows Phone. Whatever is planned for Zune, we should know more at MIX11 in April. Joe Belfiore, who is responsible for any forthcoming generations of Zune devices, is keynoting at the event.

  • Bnlf

    hope they dont kill it

  • http://twitter.com/topleya Andy Topley

    Noooooooooo, Zune player is beautiful and unique. Windows Live programs are ugly, dated and boring.

    This would actually be awful unless MS begin to bring a new style to Live programs & websites and intergate the Metro UI into it as well.

    • Grannyville7989

      There’s been hints of the Metro UI in Windows Live Essentials 2011, especially in Messenger. I don’t think they’ll kill Zune. I would put money on that they’ll make the Windows Live programs have the Metro UI style, considering that there having been rumors of Windows 8 getting a Metro UI style.

      Personally, I think they should ditch Windows Media Player and replace it with Zune as the main media player client.

    • Anonymous

      wouldn’t be surprised if media player goes.. now that i think about it i’m guessing zune would just be “windows marketplace” and allow for Windows Phone, Windows 8, Xbox live, Music, Movies and Video all in one marketplace.

    • Grannyville7989

      So we see the media player of Zune replacing Windows Media Player as we already know it but the Marketplace becomes a separate application for the purchase of music, movies, games, software, etc across all the supported platforms?

  • http://about.me/mackenziepricee mackenziepricee

    Hm, very disappointed to hear this.

    I don’t think Microsoft understand that putting Windows in everything makes it a stronger brand. Invest some decent marketing into Zune and it will pay off.

    • adnan

      Very true. There’s a huge number of people who fall into the category of being outside of the tech sphere and outside the US at the same time and barely any of them know anything about the zune player. Save for some mutterings about it. My friend has a zune hd and it is amazingly gorgeous. Be a sad thing to shutter. Unlike kin this isn’t even a niche product. It’s a well made mainstream device which has been treated to possibly one of the worst marketing and publicity campaigns ever.

  • Harsha

    I hope they dont tie ZUNE with windows live essentials and they terrible release cycle

  • WP7 User

    I hate the ZUNE client generally!!!!!!!!!!!

    • iTunes sucks

      You must’ve never used iTunes.

    • Simon Stark

      I was just about to say this. Zune client is not perfect, but is lightyears better than the crappy, bloated iTunes.

    • JohnCz

      Zune client is a significant improvement over horrid iTunes.

  • Alvaro

    Microsoft must not forget Samsung, LG and HTC. This brands have wp7 also.

  • http://twitter.com/TheRackow Andrew Rackow

    Of course Microsoft would kill off one of its two percieved “cool” brands… If they put the same marketing behind Zune as they do Xbox this wouldnt be a problem. They better keep the Zune Software. If they call it Windows Live Music are they keeping Zune Pass? maybe call it Backstage Pass or something I dunno… but DONT KILL ZUNE!

    • Adnan

      Amazing how the general tech public can see that the lackluster sales of zune are almost entirely due to crap marketing but MS seems to be oblivious to the fact. Sigh. Such an awesome product too.

  • Anonymous

    I dont want to see Zune go and I like the look of the Zune software but microsoft meeds to merge its media players

    I use Media Player to play videos, Media Center to stream videos to my xbox, and Zune to sync my WP7 and play mp3s. It would be nice if I could do all these with 1 media player

  • Anonymous

    how can they kill it? The zune client is the only client for WP7.. Personally i think PT just has a long rod shoved up his butt, he’s been on nothing short of an anti-ms rampage for weeks now. re-brand? not sure that is in their best interest as it would re-kindle “plays for sure”..

    With zune on xbl finally giving itunes a run for their money, i find this to be a silly proposition

    • Adnan

      They won’t kill the the client. They can’t. It’s there way of delivering wp7 updates. The article says they might kill the brand. Big difference. It means end of the zune hardware and the zune software itself being possibly rebranded as the new live media player

    • Anonymous

      a lot of cost to accomplish nothing unless “live media” is going to be expanded to all microsoft devices.

      but hey, on the positive send the death of MS points would be nice.

      i still think PT has a rod up his butt though :)

    • http://azzlsoft.com Rich

      I agree 100% about PT. His opinion stopped having any relevance months ago. His negativity about the Windows Phone update was annoying, but understandable. His recent kick about breaking up Microsoft is absurd, but it’s a popular, albeit naive, opinion. Once he started selling weight-loss products, however, that’s when I stopped caring.

      I am fairly confident that he has realized that controversial, anti-Microsoft statements make him more money than decent, unbiased analysis.

      It does seem like Zune is gaining traction, but that doesn’t mean they won’t kill it. Perhaps they will but why on earth would they move it to Windows Live?

  • Anonymous

    it can be better if they release Zune HD2

  • onars

    zune is cool …please dont kill it off microsoft… wp7 – zune = not cool

  • GP007

    So just because they didn’t talk about the Zune at the Nokia and MWC keynote that means they’ll kill it now? Oh come on, they didn’t talk about the Live services at all either, does that mean they’ll kill those to? Splitting the Zune hardware and software team makes sense because MS is shifting Zune as a everywhere SERVICE, not just specific to Zune hardware devices but to everything MS can get it on.

    Why make a fuss about adding it to the Xbox 360 a year ago only to drop the name now? Why when Nokia gives you access to their EU music selling licesing would you decide you’ll drop Zune? This speculation doesn’t fit, they just expanded it to parts of the EU, though not fully everywhere, and they’ll kill it now?

    *sigh*

  • Grannyville7989

    I don’t understand why people have got the impression that rebrand = kill. From what I’ve thought, I thought they were going to rename it or something. There’s been rumors that Windows Phone itself might get a rebrand to something new so I guess Zune will become whatever Windows Phone would be, if the rumors are true. I’m sure the look and feel of the client will remain very much the same.

  • JohnCz

    Mary Jo Foley thinks the rebranding may be XBox and not anything to do with Windows Live. She even goes sofar to say that the rumor’d Zune HD2 device could be retargetted as a gaming device. Btw, she received the following response from Microsoft about these rumors…

    “We’re not ‘killing’ any of the Zune services/features in any way. Microsoft remains committed to providing a great music and video experience from Zune on platforms such as Xbox LIVE, Windows-based PCs, Zune devices and Windows Phone 7, as well as integration with Bing and MSN.”

  • Anonymous

    Hope they rebrand windows live to Zune instead :/

  • http://madebyplast.com Chun Yin

    Goodness, that would be a horrible decision. Not everything needs to be branded Windows…

  • http://twitter.com/Daniel_H_UK Daniel Hartshorn

    Does this mean that we may beable to get the #ipodkiller in the UK That will be great im looking to replace my aging Creative Zen which is slowly on its way to MP3 heavan