Xbox Music Leads Microsoft’s New Push to Challenge iTunes - NYTimes.com

Music is one of several domains in which perhaps Microsoft should have partnered with Amazon, rather than going it alone

"Analysts say the success of Xbox Music will depend on far more than whether the service itself is any good, since the strategy is to have it enhance the appeal of Microsoft-powered gadgets that have much broader functions. “This is not going to matter if no one wants the devices,” said Richard Greenfield, an analyst at BTIG Research. “You need to have a killer device.”
That will be tricky on phones. The first smartphones on which the service will be available are those running a new version of Microsoft’s mobile operating system, Windows Phone, which has struggled to gain traction."

Xbox Music Leads Microsoft’s New Push to Challenge iTunes - NYTimes.com