微软怎么玩转网络音乐

    如果一开始没有成功，那就再试一次，接着再试一次，然后，再试一次。

    这似乎就是驱使微软（Microsoft）的Xbox Music不断前进的动力。这项服务从今天开始对Xbox 360游戏机兼容。Windows 8和Windows Phone 8的用户则分别可以从10月26日和10月29日开始体验。它取代了Zune Marketplace（微软的在线音乐商店——译注）的地位。看起来，微软似乎想把失败的音乐播放器品牌转变为成功的家庭电视游戏机品牌。考虑到Xbox 360在美国国内的成功——连续21个月在美国的畅销游戏机排行榜上占据首位——这的确是个不错的想法，尽管Xbox Music能在不同的设备上播放意味着这个名字不再恰当。

    Xbox Music并不是单纯的品牌再造。微软显然希望它成为一个无所不包的音乐服务项目。用户可以像使用苹果（Apple）的iTunes那样选择音乐列表进行下载；也可以像使用Spotify一样以流媒体的方式收听音乐；还可以像使用流媒体音乐服务Pandora那样自定义播放列表。初步的用户测评甚至认为Xbox Music“好极了”。

    不过这项服务在正式推出之前，微软似乎就已经降低了它的影响力。安卓（Android）和iOS系统的用户最快也要等到明年才能注册。这意味着，短期内，用户只能用微软的系统体验这项服务。举个例子，Xbox Music仅对Windows 8的用户群体开放。（Windows 7的用户就不那么走运了，除非他们愿意升级系统）。游戏用户则必须得拥有Xbox 360才行。想要随身听音乐？那你得学着爱上Windows Phone 8，或者至少拥有一部。在智能手机市场上，这部手机的数量并不多，占有率不过3.5%。你也可以购买微软这个月即将推出的平板电脑Surface，成为首批用户。不过这款产品的性能如何还有待检验。

    批评一项刚刚推出的音乐服务，听起来可能有些操之过急。不过考虑到数字音乐市场已经足够拥挤，想从苹果、Spotify和Pandora的手上分一杯羹，微软需要做好十足的准备。（毕竟，单单iTunes一家就声称拥有4.35亿用户。）因此微软从一开始就把Xbox Music的平台包装得十分神秘。如今，它也许永远都无法产生强大持续的吸引力了。当它最终能够与安卓和苹果的设备兼容时，也许已经太晚了。那个时候，Xbox Music或许就会沦落到和Zune Marketplace一样尴尬的境地。或许并不会这么糟。

    译者：严匡正

    If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then, try another time. And then once more.

    That seems to have been the driving force behind Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox Music, a music service rolling out to Xbox 360 consoles today, Windows 8 users on Oct. 26, and Windows Phone 8 owners on Oct. 29. It replaces "Zune Marketplace," likely an effort on the company's part to swap branding from its failed music player to the uber-successful home videogame console. Given the Xbox 360 domestic success -- it remains the bestselling console in the U.S. for 21 consecutive months and counting -- it's not a horrible idea, even if the capability to use Xbox Music on different devices means the name doesn't make much sense.

    Still, Xbox Music is more than just about rebranding. Microsoft clearly intends it to be an all-encompassing effort. Users can download music a la carte like Apple (AAPL) iTunes, stream music a la Spotify, and listen to customized playlists in the same vein as Pandora (P). Early impressions cast the Xbox Music experience as "wonderful," even.

    But Microsoft may have clipped its wings before the service even launched. Android and iOS users won't be able sign up until next year at earliest, which means in the near-term, users should be pretty happy living in Microsoft's ecosystem. For instance, Xbox Music will only be available to Windows 8 users. (Windows 7 users are out of luck unless they upgrade.) Gamers must have an Xbox 360. Want that music on the go? Learn to love -- or at least live with -- a Windows Phone 8 device, which, with a middling 3.5% market share of the smartphone market, there aren't many of. Or, become an early adopter of Microsoft's unproven Surface Tablet, due out later this month.

    Criticizing a music service just rolling out might seem premature, but given the already-crowded digital music market, Microsoft needed to bring its A-game if it wants to take on the likes of Apple, Spotify, and Pandora. (After all, iTunes alone claims 435 million users.) That includes making Xbox Music platform agnostic from Day One. Now, it may never achieve the traction needed to be a lasting presence, and when compatibility with Android and Apple devices finally does comes, it could be too late: "Xbox Music" may already be synonymous with "Zune Marketplace." Or not.