MICROSOFT GIVES THE SUBS
A NEW MISSILE

If even part of the speculation about Microsoft’s new Janus software is true, an explosion of growth in subscription music services and Windows Media-supported portable players may be at hand.

The software, due to be released this summer, would allow subscribers to all-you-can-download services (currently offered by Napster, Real’s Rhapsody, MusicNet and others) to transfer tracks to their portable players. The software would cause the music to disappear if the user’s subscription lapsed.

Apple’s iPod, the marketshare monster among digital-music portables, is not currently equipped for such use. Which means that—if this mode of content acquisition appeals to consumers—competing portables could actually give the sleek industry leader a run for its money.

Subscription services were once touted as the ideal model for digital distribution, but they have struggled for traction among consumers of digital music, who thus far have preferred a la carte downloads in general—and Apple’s iTunes Music Store in particular.

Part of the reason for the sub services’ difficulties, some observers believe, is the fact that all music enjoyed therein, whether as stream or download, is "tethered" to the user’s PC.

That tether would be cut with Janus, suddenly making a monthly subscription fee (usually around $9.99 for access to hundreds of thousands of tracks) a great deal more valuable.

"To us, Janus finally provides the platform on which we can build a new type of experience for the consumer," enthused Virgin Digital’s Zack Zalon to CNET. "We believe this is it. This is what consumers really want."

While not everyone is quite so bubbly about the new tech, it certainly could represent a shot in the arm for sub services and rival portables—and for Microsoft, which stands to make a mint in software licensing, give WMA a larger profile and potentially drive greater traffic to the music service it plans to offer at its MSN.com portal.

Stay tuned. In the meantime, it’s back to our rented hovel.