Microsoft Talk

Evolving platform continues to offer new ways to connect with new music, media and the community, anywhere, anytime.

A Clear Channel from Discovery to Purchase

In a groundbreaking move, the 3.0 release makes the Zune’s FM tuner more interactive by using the RDS and RT+ information feeds that are used in the signal of most radio stations — Zune can now match that information with Marketplace, allowing users to click any song they hear to instantly tag and purchase it, or download it through their Zune Pass subscription.

If the Zune is in a recognized Wi-Fi hotspot, the song will immediately download. If not, a queue of songs will be ready to download when the Zune is next connected, either physically or wirelessly.

According to Jeff Littlejohn, executive vice president for distribution development at Clear Channel Radio, the new functionality from Zune comes at a perfect time for radio stations worldwide, as they seek new ways to distribute content of all kinds. Radio reaches more than 200 million people every week, and studies show that more than half of new music discovery still happens via FM stations.

“People spend a lot of time with radio,” says Littlejohn. “This Zune technology puts two things together that have been dying to get together for years — discovery of new music on FM radio and the purchase of music, which is getting to be more and more digital.”

According to Littlejohn and others in the broadcasting industry, putting those two things together creates the instant gratification that really compels consumers.

“To hear a new song on the radio and then purchase that song and own it within minutes is a pretty magical consumer experience I think,” he says. “We’re making FM radio interactive. It’s exciting for broadcasters, for consumer-electronics providers and, of course, for consumers, which is the most important.”

Zune’s Buy from FM functionality will work with any RDS or RT+ information feed from any radio station in the United States. Clear Channel alone will have more than 450 stations enabled for RDS feeds on the day Zune’s functionality goes live, and the company is also working with other broadcasters to standardize the feeds and improve the customer experience.

“We see this as an industry coalition,” he says. “This needs to be ubiquitous to reach its potential, and Zune brings so much depth to the game, since it’s so connected and focused on the listener.”