Microsoft Faces the Music

Redmond rolls out its WMA format for downloadable music, claiming high quality and features found nowhere else. Will content show up? By Jennifer Sullivan and John Gartner.

Microsoft is learning that becoming part of the music scene isn't easy unless you know the right people.

The company released a new version of its digital audio technology this week, but competing on unfamiliar turf with entrenched formats such as MP3, Liquid Audio, and RealAudio, it found that it takes more than spin to win.


Read Wired News' ongoing MP3 coverage