(news.techwhack.com) - Microsoft and Universal Music Group have said in a joint statement that they are collaborating for the new Zune digital music player device and its associated digital music service.
The two companies however declined to reveal the financial aspects of this deal. Such a deal would result in the recording company getting paid a cut of the sales of the device.
Interestingly, Microsoft is also pursuing other music studios for signing similar deals with them. This could be their trump card against the hugely popular Apple iPod range of players. Apple does not share any revenues from the sales of the players with the music companies, reports Trend.
Microsoft Zune would be launched in the retail market on November 14 and it would sell for $249.99. Universal Music Group Chairman and CEO Doug Morris said in a statement: The only factor was that we feel that there's a great deal of music that's (stored) on these devices that was never legitimately obtained, and we wanted to get some sort of compensation for what we thought we're losing. I want our artists to be paid for the music that makes these devices popular.