Microsoft to emulate Spotify?

According to the UK’s Telegraph, Microsoft is planning to launch a music streaming service similar to Spotify and Pandora. Like Spotify, they are planning ad supported streaming for free listening, with a premium model without ads. The Telegraph adds that this may help bolster the basically failed Zune player.

It’s difficult to know what to think about this, but I’m skeptical they can pull it off. While Windows 7 looks like a much better effort than Vista, Microsoft has an unfortunate habit of making applications with too much fat like Windows Media Player, and they are world beating experts at being shockingly uncool.

Spotify and Pandora’s main problem is getting global licensing rights, and perhaps Microsoft with all its clout could overcome that. But would the product be as effortlessly intuitive as Spotify? There just isn’t anything in Microsoft’s portfolio that suggests it isn’t going to be a big mess compared to what’s on the market already. What’s likely in my mind, is that we’ll see a Windows spin off of a streaming service designed for the Xbox 360. I just don’t think it will have the “I want one!” cool factor.

Whatever happens, there’s a lot to win in terms of music streaming, as some people think it’s a big part of the future of the music industry. I don’t think it’s necessary for Microsoft to be the biggest player in that service – having a near monopoly with operating systems is enough! Although maybe this is a way of finding new revenue if they are killed by Google…