• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, September 10, 2008

Users of Microsoft's Zune music device and the related service of the same name will be able to tag songs they hear on the radio and then purchase them via wireless hot spots.

Buy From FM, debuting this coming Tuesday, is the result of a partnership between Microsoft and stations from nine big radio groups: Beasley, Bonneville, CBS Radio, Citadel, Clear Channel, Cox, Emmis, Entercom, and Greater Media. Altogether, over 450 stations are participating.

Microsoft said the new service was designed to make it easier for Zune users to download new music they come across on the radio, citing a survey which found that 61% of the population discovers new music primarily through that medium.

This feature could help drive sales for the device, which has accumulated just a 4% share in the MP3 player market since its launch several years ago.

In the last year, radio broadcasters have collaborated with digital music device manufacturers to make it easier to download songs heard during radio broadcasts. Since the songs usually can't be purchased directly from the broadcaster, these systems rely on digital tagging to identify a song for later purchase.

Some HD radios come equipped with tagging technology that transfers the song IDs to an iPod through an iPod-compatible port. The user can then purchase the songs via iTunes.