How in the world can I play Xbox Music on my PC?

[MikeSo]

I don't get it. I had WP7 and a Zune Pass before, and while the Zune PC software was really slooow to connect online when I wanted to start streaming or find music, it was easy as pie and worked every time.

I don't know how many errors I've gotten already with Xbox Music on my Lumia 521 WP8. Eventually I've gotten music to play on my phone though without too much hassle.

But now I'm trying to play the songs I downloaded to the phone on my PC (Windows 7). I synced them using WMP, and they show up in the library in WMC. But when I try and play them, I get an error message saying I need to open the file in Zune first, to establish usage rights, and THEN play them again in WMC. But when I try and play the files in Zune, it says it's an invalid format!!!

I just can't figure this thing out. Anyone got any ideas? Do I need to download everything directly to the PC instead?

 

[Laura Knotek]

I have never used Zune or Xbox Music subscriptions. However, Xbox Music does not appear to be compatible with any PCs other than those running Windows 8. Xbox Music Pass for devices | Add your devices to Xbox Music Pass - Xbox.com

I also found this article. I have no idea if the compatibility issues still exist. If nothing has changed, Xbox Music is incompatible with Zune.

 

[MikeSo]

Thanks. Yes, it doesn't seem to be directly compatible. What a hassle. I downloaded the songs again in Zune, and it seemed to play then.
I've had more problems with Xbox Music and WP8 in 6 days than I had with Zune and WP7 in 14 months...