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Quick Tip: Resolving XBox Music Pass Song Credit Errors

Being the old guy around here I tend to use some legacy stuff. So, not surprising I have an XBox Music Pass (formerly Zune Pass) which includes the “grandfathered” 10 Song Credits per month. The XBox Music app for Windows 8 does not recognize Song Credits. So the only options to cash them in are; using a Windows Phone device or, the Zune Music desktop program. Much of the music I purchase never makes it to my phone, so my preferred method is using the, not really supported, Zune Music desktop program.

In recent months I have more frequently encountered errors when downloading/purchasing a song using a Song Credit. First it was 1 out of 10, then last month it was 2 out of the 10 downloads. Today, with only two days to go before my 10 Song Credits expire, I got errors while downloading 7 out of the 10 tracks I had selected. WTH. When this happens, the songs still download, but they appear as WMAs, instead of DRM free MP3s. One or two was frustrating. But seven necessitated taking the time to contact Microsoft and either get a credit for the, “sometimes working/sometimes not grandfathered Music Pass”, or find another way to download my purchased music.

Turns out, after a quick chat with Bryce at XBox Music, there is a simple solution. The three tracks that did download as MP3s were in my Music/Artist/Album Name folder. All good. The seven tracks that downloaded as WMAs were in my Music/Subscription/Artist/Album Name folder. The fix is easy.

– Move the entire Artist/Album folder out of Music/Subscription and drop it somewhere else temporally in case you need it later. I moved it to Downloads.

– Open the XBox Music app and navigate to the Artist/Album in question.

– Right click each track that downloaded originally as a WMA, and click Download at the bottom of the screen. That’s it!

All of the tracks in question re-downloaded to Music/XBox Music/Purchases/Artist/Album Name, all as MP3s. Problem solved.

 

If you have ever encountered a Song Credit download problem, now you know how to solve it.