MSN Readies Music Service, Tests 'Newsbot'
There is more excitement brewing at Microsoft's MSN division these days than just beta builds of its upcoming software and rosy quarterly financials.
Following Apple's lead, MSN will deliver an online music store sometime next year. A beta version of an automated news service from MSN Search was also discovered to be functioning online under the company's UK brand. Both developments demonstrate Microsoft’s desire to evolve well beyond the traditional role of service provider.
Redmond remains tight-lipped regarding its upcoming music download service. Earlier this year, Microsoft partnered with On Demand Distribution (OD2) to produce the MSN Music Club and Tiscali Music Club for the European market. However, the product is modest in comparison to iTunes or the newly reincarnated Napster 2.0.
Rather than supply its own tunes for its Media Center 2004 flavor of Windows XP, Microsoft relied heavily on partners such as Napster to stream the music. But now the company's future plans in the music space are not entirely clear.
Lisa Gurry, MSN Group Product Manager, told BetaNews, "We are excited to confirm that MSN will deliver a download music service next year, and we look forward to sharing more details at a later date."
Despite the lack of details on the music service, Gurry did reveal that MSN Newsbot is, "an automated news service from MSN Search that provides consumers with the ability to find and discover news sources from around the world."
"MSN Newsbot will be available in beta beginning in November in France, the UK, Italy and Spain," said Gurry. Microsoft's Newsbot could potentially compete with Google News, which pulls content from 4,500 news sources.
Microsoft had fielded rumors in recent weeks that it has its eyes set on acquiring Google. A company spokesperson denied the rumor, however. Internally, the software giant has been fostering its own Web crawler, code-named MSNBot.
Like rival America Online, Microsoft's MSN has been undergoing a transformation from an ISP to a premium broadband service - all while shuttering some free services. The upcoming MSN software will include member only video content, as well as refined services.