Andre Yoskowitz
4 Jun 2007 18:45
Through a program it calls "Ignition", Microsoft hopes to give new music artists the chance to get discovered by the 30 million MSN, Zune and Xbox Live users.
Participating bands in the program will recieve a month's worth of "prominent placement" on the Zune Marketplace, Zune.net, MSN's entertainment Web site, and Xbox Live Marketplace.
Microsoft announced that the first band to participate is "Maximo Park" coming from the UK.
Before participating the bands must agree to an exclusive contract with Microsoft and promise to provide exclusive music and music video to Microsoft's entertainment properties.
"Consumers are looking for ways to find new music, and Ignition helps connect artists with potential new fans by giving them multiple opportunities to listen to, watch or read about the artist across Microsoft's online platforms," Zune music marketing head Christina Calio added.
Microsoft will allow free downloads of all Maximo Park's music from Zune.net and access to videos on Xbox Live.
Source:
BetaNews