'Acquiring License' Issues

'Acquiring License' message when playing music copied from another computer

If you downloaded music from MSN Music on one computer and have tried to move your music to a new computer, follow the steps below:

  1. When trying to play the music, you see a screen that asks you whether you already own the song or need to buy it.

  2. Since you already purchased the song on another computer, you would click on 'I ALREADY OWN THIS SONG'.
  3. At this point, you will be prompted to sign in to your MSN Music Account.
  4. If you have never downloaded from MSN Music on the new computer, you may be prompted to install the MSN Music Assistant.  Also, you need to authorize the computer for MSN Music.
  5. If at this point, you see an 'Acquiring License' message in Windows Media Player that doesn't seem to be making any progress when you try to play your music, please check to make sure that the MSN Music Assistant is not blocked by any firewall or other security software installed on this computer. Information on popular firewalls and how to configure them for MSN Music is available on our FAQ page.
  6. If you are unable to resolve your issue, please contact MSN Music Support for additional assistance.

'Acquiring License' message when playing music directly downloaded from MSN Music.

If you have downloaded music from MSN Music on to your computer and see an 'Acquiring License' message in Windows Media Player that doesn't seem to be making any progress, when you try to play your music, please try the following steps.

  1. Check your Windows Media Player version. The steps below are appropriate only for Windows Media Player 10 users. If you have an earlier version of the player, please do not de-authorize your computer since that will render all your previously downloaded music, that you purchased from MSN Music, unusable.
  2. If you have Windows Media Player 10, proceed to complete the steps below:
      a. Go to the MSN Music home page and sign in to your MSN Music account.
      b. Your username will now be displayed on the top header bar on the Music page.



      c. Mouse over your username to see the dropdown shown above. Click on the 'My Settings' link. You will see the following page.



      d. Click on the 'Manage My Computers' link to see a list of the computers you have, that are authorized for MSN Music. Click on the  'DEAUTHORIZE' button next to the current computer, i.e. the computer on which you are having the issue.



      e. You will see a warning informing you that you will not be able to play your purchased music if you de-authorize. Proceed by clicking on the 'YES, DEAUTHORIZE NOW' button, as shown below.



      f. Re-authorize your computer by clicking on the 'ADD THIS COMPUTER' link on the 'Manage My Computers' page as shown below.



      g. Accept the suggested name if one is provided based on the previous name you had used to authorize it. Proceed to authorize the computer for MSN Music by clicking on 'YES, AUTHORIZE NOW'.



      h. Select the music that you were unable to play earlier and try to play it. Your issue should have been resolved. If it was not, please contact MSN Music Support for additional assistance.

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