Zune
| Product type | Digital media |
|---|---|
| Owner | Microsoft |
| Country | United States |
| Introduced | 2006 |
| Discontinued | 2012 |
| Related brands | Xbox (successor) |
| Markets | Worldwide |
Zune was a brand of digital media products and services that was marketed by Microsoft from November 2006 until it was discontinued in June 2012. Zune consisted of a line of portable media players, a music subscription service known as Zune Music Pass plus Zune Marketplace for music, TV and movies, streaming services for the Xbox 360 game console, and the Zune software media player for Windows computers which also acted as desktop sync software for Windows Phone.
Zune started and revolved around its line of portable media players (PMP) created in cooperation with Toshiba. Microsoft aimed to challenge and beat Apple, whose iPod line held an enormous market share. Three hard disk players ranging from 30 GB to 120 GB were released, alongside six flash players. However, its overall market share in the U.S. remained low, well below Apple and also lagged behind the SanDisk Sansa and Creative Zen. Microsoft discontinued all Zune hardware in October 2011. Zune digital content distribution continued until 2012, when it was replaced by the Xbox Music and Xbox Video brands.
| Timeline of Microsoft's online digital music and video offerings | |
|---|---|
| 12 Oct 2004 | MSN Music Store launches |
| 18 Oct 2006 | Release of version 11 of Windows Media Player playback software |
| 22 Nov 2006 | Zune Marketplace and Xbox Live Video Marketplace launches offering music and video downloads respectively |
| 19 Nov 2008 | Zune Pass music subscription service launches |
| 22 Jul 2009 | Release of version 12 of Windows Media Player playback software |
| Fall 2009 | Zune Marketplace gains movies and TV content; Xbox Live Video Marketplace integrates into new Zune Video Marketplace |
| 26 Oct 2012 | Zune brand retired; Xbox Music and Xbox Video streaming services and download stores launches; Xbox Music and Xbox Video apps also replace Windows Media Player as the default media playback software (in Windows 8) |
| 29 Jul 2015 | Xbox Music and Xbox Video apps and streaming services re-branded as Groove Music and Movies & TV/Films & TV respectively; Music and Video download stores merged into the Windows Store (later known as Microsoft Store) |
| 1 Jan 2018 | Discontinuation and shutting down of Groove Music streaming service (Pass) and music downloading from the Microsoft Store |
| 16 Nov 2021 | Release of new Media Player software replacing Groove Music and (for playback purposes) Movies & TV/Films & TV |
| 18 Jul 2025 | Microsoft Movies & TV/Films & TV store shuts down, ending Microsoft's presence in digital music/video distribution |