Zune expands Internet presence with multiple Hispanic Digital Alliances.

Microsoft Corp.’s Zune team announced a collaboration with MSN Latino and partnership with Remezcla.com to be the exclusive music sponsor for each site. The partnership will bring together the most trusted, renowned and visited sites among the Hispanic community, creating a powerful tool for artists to authentically connect with online consumers. The new co-branded online platform will launch on April 15, maximizing the reach among Hispanic and Spanish-language online sites.

The new alliance lets consumers discover new music and artists in an environment that’s familiar, while giving them a convenient and consistent purchase experience through Zune Marketplace. Through the announced digital platform, Zune and these cross-promoters will gain a significant reach and breadth among the Hispanic online community.

“For artists it means getting maximum exposure through prominent sites and through a digital storefront,” said Denisse Guerrero, lead singer of the Mexican electropop band, Belanova. “We’re thrilled that we’re able to work with Zune to expose our music to fans through various online avenues.”

Belanova will have prominent placement on the Zune Marketplace homepage and be artist of the month on MSN Latino in May.

“Zune continues its commitment to Latin artists and to the Hispanic community,” said Javier Farfan, the senior manager of Lifestyle Marketing for Zune. “Through these business arrangements, Zune will continue to offer Latino music lovers the artists’ information and industry content they care about through Zune, Zune Marketplace and the Zune Social.”

The arrangement with MSN Latino gives Zune the exclusive naming rights to MSN Latino’s music channel, which will be rebranded as Zune Musica through 2009. The collaboration between Zune and MSN Latino will include all pages within the MSN Latino Zune Musica music channel including editorial, graphics, photos, in-page video, special-event coverage and sponsorships related to music, such as the Latin Grammys and Latin Billboard Music awards. Additional support provided by the Zune-MSN Latino collaboration will include aZune-branded artist of the month and deep links into Zune Marketplace when users want to buy music of featured artists.

“We’re excited to join Zune in its digital expansion,” said Mike DeGennaro, national sales manager for MSN Latino. “Our site has an eclectic mixture of content, and this collaboration with Zune, musically, will only enhance our content.”