Earlier this year, Universal Music Group big-cheese Doug Morris opted against a new 2-year contract with iTunes, and instead has a rolling month-to-month contract with Apple.  According to a report today in BusinessWeek, the UMG is gearing up to launch an iTunes competing service of their own to be named “Total Music”.   BMG Music have also thrown their name into the program and is having talks with Warner Music Group. Together the three companies music giants would have control of over 70% of all the music sold in the U.S., with Apple iTunes currently holding control of over 70% of the music sold online in the U.S.The new Total Music service would be looking to hook up with direct iPod competitors as well, such as Microsoft’s Zune player, mobile phone carriers and game consoles looking to work themselves into more a part of total home entertainment.

From PC World’s news report:

The plan is to get hardware makers to absorb the cost of a $5 monthly subscription, so that consumers would get their music essentially for free when they buy a new player, and the hardware industry would be compensated by selling many more devices.

“You know that [the subsctiption is] there, and it costs something,” one tech executive who has seen Universal’s presentation told BusinessWeek.com. “But you never write a check for it.”

Microsoft is one lead candidate to take up the fight with Universal and revive its Zune music player in the process.  But the wireless carriers are the most adept at bundling devices and services under a contract to keep the “free” feeling alive. I’d expect fierce fighting by wireless companies for deals with Universal.

While Universal is currently running DRM-free music trials on iTunes rivals, it is not said if Total Music would be DRM-free. But removing DRM from the digital music landscape could be the the next big cause, giving a competitive advantage to its champion.

Microsoft are not taking the launch of the new iPods lightly.  Bill Gates glossed about the new Zune 2 and the launch date of November 2007 in a widespread video interview recently.  If you’re not in the know, Zune 2 will be avabilabe 80Gig hard-drive, 8Gig and 4Gig flash editions.

According to reports from a “source” inside Microsoft, a new batch of Zunes are due out in both flash memory- and hard drive-based forms. The new, smaller, flash Zune (the Draco) will be hitting shelves in pink, red, black, or army green colors, will have a 4GB or 8GB capacity, and will feature a “squircle” (the source’s term, not ours) for navigation, which won’t have a center button but can be pushed, “From any side.” The hard drive-based player (the Scorpio) will be available in 80GB, sports the soon-to-be infamous “squircle,” and touts a screen which the source claims is “awesome” for video.

A hot chick with a cute name from Microsoft said on Tuesday that it’s “not unreasonable” for the company to sell a mobile phone with the features of a Zune built in to compete with Apple’s iPhone.  In light of Apple’s relative success with the iPhone, there may be a huge market for phones with integrated mobile media players, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a Zune based device would be a success. To date, the Zune hasn’t had anything resembling the success of the iPod, so there’s no reason to assume it would be a strong selling point for other devices.

So far Microsoft’s mobile phone business has revolved around convincing handset manufacturers to use their Windows Mobile software, but that focus may be changing.  “It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think at some point there might some integrated thing,” Mindy Mount, chief financial officer of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, told investors at Citigroup’s global technology conference.

Earlier this year CEO Steve Ballmer stated that they would never try to create a Zune phone. He did, however suggest that similar functionality might be added to the Windows Mobile platform.

On Wednesday morning Apple is expected to announce the latest iPod.  Being characteristically mum in advance of the announcement, the invitation sent to the media dogs last week didn’t give much away, however, it did show a silhouette holding an iPod.   The invite was in the style of Apple’s “Cover Flow” iTunes and iPhone browsing feature. “The beat goes on,” it said.Apple’s announcement will have implications for Microsoft, which last year launched its Zune music player in an effort to compete with the iPod.   Apple sill dominates the portable music market, and Microsoft’s previous efforts to compete, in alliance with its hardware partners, weren’t effective. The Zune is the company’s own device.

So far, Microsoft has come out with a 30-gigabyte Zune player. The company’s executives have said they will need to expand the product line to include smaller and cheaper, flash-based Zune models to better compete with the iPod lineup in general, and with the popular iPod Nano in particular.

“Certainly if Microsoft has any hopes for Zune, they are going to have to refresh that product before the holidays,” said Michael Gartenberg, a Jupiter Research analyst. “They are going to have to do it in a very meaningful way and it’s going to require a major revamp of that product line.”  Launching the first Zune model last year, Microsoft executives said they didn’t expect to be able to overcome the iPod’s advantage in the short run. Data from the NPD Group show Zune in the No. 2 position in the specific niche of hard-drive based players, and that spot may be the most realistic position for the company for the time being.

The Zune’s primary differentiator is a wireless song-swapping feature, but it requires other Zune users to be in the vicinity — something that’s not common, given the low market penetration.

To be sure, all is not perfect for Apple in digital media. Last week, its deal for NBC television shows on the iTunes Store unraveled.   But Microsoft still has a long way to go to catch up. In July, Microsoft’s Robbie Bach, president of the company’s Entertainment & Devices Division, reiterated that it would be three or four years before Microsoft gets where it wants to be in the portable music market.

“You are going to see more from us in terms of new software, in terms of new devices, in terms of new features,” Bach told analysts during a meeting on the company’s Redmond campus. “You’ll see us broaden our presence in the marketplace for sure going forward.”

WhizzByte have been given the following information after asking if they could confirm any details regarding Scorpio (the new 80gb model) and draco (the flash based zune). This is the reply: ”We have seen the rumors floating around, but we haven’t announced specific dates or details for the next generation of the Zune devices or service. That said, Zune follows the cycle of the consumer electronics cycle so you can expect an update later this year prior to the holiday season.

There are three predictable paths along which we’ll expand Zune:

• Device family – adding in new sizes, styles and price points
  Features – we’ll move towards parity with iPod building in support for video, podcasting, etc and at the same time build on key differentiators such as the wireless feature, the FM tuner, etc
• Geographic Markets – we’ll start to expand the international footprint of Zune over time but only when we can ensure an offering which is tailored to that market
• And one thing about Zune that’s really great for consumers is that the device is future-proofed. Consumers can buy without fear of their device becoming obsolete. Zune’s software (firmware) can be updated so their device gets automatically updated with new features when the new software is launched.”

Whizzbyte also asked if they were going to set out the Zune Spots, in not just concerts but possibly malls and other places as well. I did not get a reply at this point. So using the above information, it is confirmed that there will be a model out in time for Christmas. They are also going to expand the support (expand from the states) probably after the new models come out. Also it says that the newer models will mimic the features of the iPod, ie nano style, shuffle, etc… and maybe add some new stuff to play in with the wi-fi capabilities. Possibly an internet application?

Maybe a zune phone is in the works, although not directly said but they did say that they were basically following the same path apple laid out.

Plenty of rumors on the web (what’s new?) regarding a possible Zune Phone offering in 2007 from Microsoft.  We’re guess the positive feedback and vibes regarding the iPhone has made the dudes at Redmond take a good look at the cellphone/music player market. 

With iPhone not due out until May, J Allard and the crazy Zune gang are probably thinking they have a chance to stay level, or close to level with Apple and the iPhone - unlike the Zune vs. iPod - where Zune will be lucky to make any kind of dent into the iPod/iTunes market.

With the rollout of Vista this week, Office late last year and Xbox 360, Microsoft has enough money, time and effort to work on Zune and make it a market leader. Give it time my young apprentices..

With the Freescale iMX31L processor, we already knew Zune could run Linux - but who was gonna be the first to try?   Well, according to one fearless warranty-voiding individual, that prospect is now at least one step closer to reality. In a post on ZuneBoards, “Mys Videl” claims that he’s managed to get Linux on Zune “partway working,” currently only able to be booted while synced and with limited capabilities. While Videl’s not willing to let the secret loose just yet (or even provide pics of it in action for that matter) he is promising to release it as open source when its finished, and open it up to beta testing before that. Exactly when that might happen, he isn’t saying.

Zune may have some undisclosed features waiting to be unlocked. A contributor to the Zune Scene forums has explored the zune.exe file, discovering that the file contains references to sychronized lyrics as well as podcasts — neither of which are currently supported by the player, the Zune Windows browser, or the Zune Marketplace. Microsoft may be planning a future revision to the Zune which will enable the above options, though podcasts in particular might require significant revisions to the browser and Marketplace, according to Electronista.