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¡¡¡¡BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Microsoft Corp has struck a deal with Universal Music to pay Universal Music Group a fee for each new Zune digital music player it sells when the iPod rival launches next week, the companies said on Thursday.
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¡¡¡¡Under the deal, Universal will receive a payment for every Zune player sold, in exchange for which Universal will provide more access to artists and rights to music.
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¡¡¡¡Chris Stephenson, general manager for global marketing at Microsoft Entertainment, said the fee was not a new idea. "It¡®s not a new conversation, it¡®s been out there in the industry for a while," he said. "We¡®ve been careful in thinking about it from an economic point of view from day one."
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¡¡¡¡Zune - capable of playing music and video and displaying photos - was first announced by Microsoft on Sept. 14, and is scheduled for release in U.S. stores on Nov. 14. It is Microsoft¡®s attempt to compete with Apple Computer Inc.¡®s market-leading iPod player and iTunes music service.
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¡¡¡¡Microsoft is hoping to differentiate itself from the iPod by including wireless technology to let people share some of their favorite songs, playlists or pictures with other Zune users who are close by.
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¡¡¡¡However, Microsoft is facing a tough competitor in Apple, which has sold more than 67.6 million iPods since its introduction in October 2001. Jupiter Research is expecting iPod to retain its dominance for at least the next 12 months to 18 months.
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¡¡¡¡Microsoft¡®s 30-gigabyte Zune will launch at a retail price of 249.99 U.S. dollars with songs available for download at the Zune Marketplace service at 99 cents each.