Is the Zune subscription or Zune Pass still available?

I'm so sorry to be the bearer of bad news here... though I also have good news too!

The bad news: For all intents and purposes, the Zune brand is dead. Microsoft still makes the Zune software available, but that's about it. The Zune Pass was truly a sweet deal, but that's dead too. It was a very gradual thing. First, the Zune Pass basically meant that for $15/month, you'd get unlimited free downloads from the Zune Marketplace - all DRM'ed, naturally, so only playable on your Zune device or through the Zune software - plus, 10 free downloads of any mp3's you wanted, DRM-free. If you considered each download to be worth $1 per mp3, it was like paying $5/month for unlimited downloads, that you can take around on your Zune. I don't think anyone - not Spotify, not Pandora, not Apple - has come close to a deal that sweet since.

Sadly, as Microsoft killed off the Zune platform, they gradually put a stop to that. At first, they allowed those of us with that Zune Pass to be grandfathered in, all while pestering us to switch up into a new deal, that would drop the free mp3's, lower the subscription price to $10, but still allow unlimited downloads. I refused, so I kept the grandfathered plan. I give Microsoft some credit here - I was able to keep doing for quite a while, until it was announced that all Zune Pass holders would be rolled into the $10 plan. The last free mp3 download I got was David Bowie's Blackstar, so, January 2016. At that point, it was just the unlimited DRM downloads for $10. By this point, it was officially being called the Xbox Music Pass, but the Zune software still worked with it.

However, then there was Groove. And the news came out that the Zune Marketplace, the only place where you could get these subscription downloads for your Zune device, was going to be killed off too. Later that year, Microsoft sent out a software update for the Zune software, which stripped out the Marketplace and the Social. Xbox Music Passes were converted to Groove Passes. There were some clever workarounds that would let you keep listening to any subscription music you still had stored on your computer or Zune devices, and even access some music through the Marketplace, but gradually, those failed too. At this point, though you could purchase music from Groove the same way that you could with iTunes, Groove was really being pushed as a streaming service, as a competitor to Spotify. So your Groove Pass wouldn't allow downloads - it would merely allow you unlimited streaming through the Groove App or the Groove website. I played around with it for a while, but mainly only kept it because I enjoyed having all the subscription music I had downloaded over the years. But as those failed - that is, the DRM in the subscription files stopped getting recognized - I ended my subscription. Streaming just didn't appeal to me - it still doesn't.

That's not entirely the end of the story. At the end of 2017, Microsoft realized that its Groove platform just wasn't attracting much interest, either as a competitor with Spotify for streaming subscriptions, or as a digital music sales service like iTunes. So it all came to an end officially on Dec. 31st. There is now, in 2018, no successor to the Zune Pass subscription. Microsoft even pointed all its remaining Groove subscribers to Spotify as its recommended service. Microsoft is essentially no longer in the digital music business in any form, beyond providing the Zune and Groove software platforms to play music you have on your device. So, as a very long-winded answer to your question - there is no Zune subscription service available anymore.

But I promised you good news, and it is this. The Zune software still works - as a music library for music you already own or that you purchase elsewhere. I buy most of my music from eMusic and Bandcamp, but iTunes, Google Play and Amazon purchases all work just as well. And of course, the software still supports podcasts, one of the main reasons I kept my Zune. It still syncs music and podcasts like it always did. The only downside is that I no longer get those unlimited downloads - I probably pay more for music every month, even with the $15/month I'm saving now. In short, you don't need a Zune Pass subscription to get value out of your Zune device. It sucks that this great option no longer exists, but the Zune devices are hardy. Personally, I prefer being able to carry around so much music, relative to my phone, and as a dedicated media device, not be so reliant on cell phone bandwidth for streaming. Having so much locally stored music and podcast material is just more convenient. I hope this helps.