Zune will reward file-sharing

We’ve looked at ways that the Zune file-sharing feature could be better used, but Microsoft seems to have gone the way of the reward and confirmed they’ll be dishing out Microsoft Marketplace Points to people who share music with others.  These points can then be used to buy new songs (from the company’s own music store, naturally) or treats from the XBox 360 Marketplace.  Two members of the core Zune team discussed the development of such a scheme at a conference in Seattle, although it’s yet officially commented on by Microsoft.

While this seems a good idea - assuming you can find someone to share with - I can imagine it creating a little confusion considering the music industry’s all-out “sharing is evil!” message that has been broadcast for the past few dozen years.  “But Microsoft said I could” might be the next - failed - defence argument we see in courts across the globe.

Confirmed: Microsoft to reward Zune song sharing [Gizmodo]