Microsoft Launches MSN Music Store Beta

If you haven’t heard about it already, you’ll be sure to hear about it about a million times as they push it to launch, but Microsoft has launched the beta version of their own music download store. It’s slightly confusing, at first, because different write-ups have called it different things, but I think we’ll go with MSN Music – that seems to be the proper name (although the interface built into Windows Media Player 10 may technically have a different name).

Downloads are priced at 99 cents, like Apple’s, and are restricted with Microsoft’s flavor of DRM, presumably with something in the same neighborhood of limited CD burns and the like as iTunes (I haven’t gotten really in depth with it yet, obviously).

Something I found a little disingenuous in one of the CNet articles is their mention that the “MSN store does not require users to download a separate software program to access the music lineup.” Technically, you’ll have to use a media player that supports Microsoft’s DRM, such as Windows Media Player. Just because it’s built into the operating system doesn’t mean it isn’t a separate program.

But, whatever. This is good news for people who want to legally load WMA files onto their machines (from Microsoft), people that use any music download service (competition lowers prices, in theory), and bad, or at least irrelevant, news for anybody who just wants to download unrestricted MP3s.

Read – Behind the music: Microsoft? [CNet]

Read – Microsoft opens MSN Music store [CNet]

Read – MSN Music Beta Page [MSN]