Shopping from online stores

Purchased content refers to audio or video files that you obtain from an online store for a one-time fee. When you purchase a song, most online stores let you play, burn, or sync the song with few or no restrictions.

Subscription content refers to audio or video files that you rent from an online store, typically for a monthly fee. With a subscription, most stores let you play the song for a specific time period; some stores also let you sync the song to a portable device a limited number of times. It is not possible to burn subscription songs to an audio CD. If you choose not to renew your subscription after the rental period ends, you will no longer be able to play or sync that subscription content. To determine if a file that you've downloaded to your computer is purchased or subscription content, view the media usage rights of the file. For more information, see How do I tell whether a file is protected and what I can do with it? In some cases, you can also identify purchased and subscription content by showing the Keywords column in the library. For information about displaying columns in the library, see Windows Media Player Help.

To find files in your library that you downloaded from an online store, do the following:

In Windows Media Player, you can find the Media Guide by clicking the arrow below the Online Stores tab, and then clicking Media Guide.

The Media Guide is like an electronic magazine; it is updated daily with links to the latest movies, music, and video on the Internet, as well as links to some of the most popular radio stations from around the world.

First, check that you have an Internet connection. If you have an Internet connection but the Player is not detecting the connection, see How do I stop Windows Media Player from acting as if I'm always offline? If the problem continues, active scripting may not be enabled in Internet Explorer. You can enable active scripting in the Internet Options dialog box by clicking the Security tab, clicking Custom Level, and then, in the Scripting section, enabling active scripting. We recommend that you view the Windows Media Player 11 or Windows Media Player 10 security statement (depending on which version of the Player you are running) before adjusting security settings.

You can find radio stations that broadcast over the Internet by navigating to them through Windows Media Player or on the Web. For more information about finding and listening to Internet radio stations, see the Listening to Internet radio FAQ.

For the latest information about MSN Music, see the MSN Music Customer Service page.

For the latest information about URGE, see the Windows Media Player and URGE FAQ.

If you do not find an answer to your question in this FAQ, try the following resources:

To find the error code identification number for a particular error message, on the error message, do one of the following:

For information about Windows Media Player error messages, see Troubleshooting Windows Media Player Error Messages.