[XBWillem]

A while back, I read that it's most likely the Zune software will disappear. That would really suck, because software like Windows Media Player cannot detect disc tag information and other extended track information.

Does anyone know what will happen to music transferred to my phone then? In Windows Media Player, a CD with 3 discs (for instance: Gov't Mule, Mulennium) gets all the 1st tracks put together, all the 2nd, etc.

[canesfan625]

A while back, I read that it's most likely the Zune software will disappear. That would really suck, because software like Windows Media Player cannot detect disc tag information and other extended track information.

Does anyone know what will happen to music transferred to my phone then? In Windows Media Player, a CD with 3 discs (for instance: Gov't Mule, Mulennium) gets all the 1st tracks put together, all the 2nd, etc.

zune has been going away since early 2011 according to the rumors. Even if it does get rebranded/replaced i doubt it would regress in features.

[jfa1]

th functionality will be in some renamed app baked into the rom

[Mitlov]

I suspect it might be renamed when Windows 8 drops, but I don't see Zune ever going away. Subscription-based music is the future. It's better for the honest consumer (more music for cheaper than buying albums one-by-one) and it's better for the artists and their record companies (much harder to pirate the music). The only people who really lose out are pirates.

[anodynamic]

I think what's going to happen is that Zune won't be the only way to manage a WP device, and that we will get a proper phone management tool with WP8 – for updates, backups, managing text messages and all that stuff.

I'm sure the Zune software or something with the same functionality will be available for managing and syncing media in the future as well.

[eric12341]

Nothing will happen, it will most likely be built into windows 8 just like it already is in 7

[XBWillem]

Thanks for all the replies!

I guess the rumors have only been partly true then. I ran the Windos 8 Consumer Preview a while back and that had a new music player. Only now I realise I should've checked if that player includes extended track information.

[eastbayrae]

Zune died when the Zune HD failed to catch on. To me it was always superior to the iPood. It failed due to MS not marketing properly.

[canesfan625]

Zune died when the Zune HD failed to catch on. To me it was always superior to the iPood. It failed due to MS not marketing properly.

The Zune hardware died not Zune. Likely going to be rebranded though to align with their new Xbox centric path

[Mitlov]

The Zune hardware died not Zune. Likely going to be rebranded though to align with their new Xbox centric path

Exactly. Zune's subscription music service remains arguably the best music service out there. And while the Zune hardware has of course died, I can't imagine the the iPod hardware is doing that well either. People tend to use smartphones or tablets as portable media players nowadays more than dedicated portable media players.

Zune's name is more of a liability than a benefit now. I think just changing the name to "XBox Music" would probably help get the service more exposure and interest.