“MP3” Icon Sometimes Misleading in the Zune Marketplace

I have a Zune Pass, and I like to use my 10 free monthly song credits to “remove” the DRM from my favorite subscription (and therefore DRM’d) music by purchasing MP3 versions of the songs.  I right-click on a song that I like, and then click “More about this album” to go to the album’s page on the Marketplace.  If I saw the “MP3” icon next to the album cover art, I would buy my desired songs from that album.  From there I select the songs that I want, right-click on them, and click “buy”.  It was a quick process that I really didn’t think much of, until I just downloaded a DRM’d song from an album marked as MP3.

Here’s the deal:  The MP3 icon doesn’t necessarily mean that ALL of the songs are available in MP3, but rather it means that at least one is.  Take a look:

Here this album is clearly marked as “MP3”:

If I go to buy the entire album, you will see that only the first song in the album is available as an MP3. (note, I deleted my email address from the image.)

I just wrote a post about Microsoft doing good things for their customers, and it’s sad, but fitting that I should write another minutes later about the other side.  I am going to contact Zune customer support for a refund of the DRM’d song that I accidentally downloaded.

General
Entertainment, Microsoft, Music, Zune
30 December 2008 comments [5] TrackBack-URI

1. Josh Handal posted on January 7, 2009:

   So whatever happened with that? I know you called already, but what was the final verdict?

2. Mavtak posted on January 7, 2009:

   What it boiled down to was that no additional charge was made for the song, and customer support can only see a billing history, so they had no way of verifying anything. It doesn’t seem like they have much power at all, sadly.

3. Lee posted on January 8, 2009:

   Hey David, I experienced the exact same thing that happened to you. The Zune software didn’t make it clear to me that it wasn’t going to use a song credit. I accidently purchased Microsoft Points when I thought that I was actually using a song credit. Then my credit card was charged $15+tax. When I called customer service, they told me I couldn’t get a refund and that if I wanted to try, I’d have to contact Microsoft’s legal department via written letter. So I sent a letter about 3 weeks ago. I still have the unused Microsoft Points in my Zune account. I have no idea if I’ll ever get a refund or not.

   I’m willing to bet that there are a lot of customers that are in the exact same situation as the two of us. Maybe we can find a place on the internet to post something about this so that it can get more publicity? And other people who have experienced it can join together and possibly get something done about it… What do you think?

4. Mavtak posted on January 8, 2009:

   Thanks, Lee. With the advice of the customer support representative, I created a post on the Zune forums and notified the forum administrator, Cesarisok. The forum post didn’t get any real attention.

   I highly doubt that the labeling system intentionally deceptive, but more likely an unfortunate oversight. Still, it is and issue and should be resolved. If you want to help, you could start by adding your voice to mine in the thread.

5. Lee posted on January 8, 2009:

   Excellent, I responded to your posting just now and I created a new post as well. My situation is a bit different than yours, but still somewhat similar. Thanks and let’s hope we can eventually get some help on this! =)

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