Xbox Music service unveiled

Current Windows 7 users will not have access to the service on their devices, and will have to keep using Zune.

By

Brad Chacos, LAPTOP

Mon, Oct 15 2012 at 4:14 PM

Related Topics:

Web, Technology

A promotional image shows Xbox Music on a TV screen, a laptop, and a smartphone

Image: LAPTOP

Microsoft just kicked Zune to the curb with the unveiling of Xbox Music, a new multiplatform $9.99 monthly digital music service launched today on the Xbox 360. It's also coming to the bevy of incoming Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 devices as soon as they launch. Own a Windows 7 or Windows Phone 7 device? You're out of luck.

Xbox Music mixes Spotify's streaming offering with iTunes-esque digital downloads and boasts one of the largest collections of songs in the United States at 18 million tunes strong. On-demand listening, customizable playlists, a "Smart DJ" dynamic radio option: it's all there, and it all seamlessly syncs between your various new-generation Microsoft devices.

Tablet and PC listeners can listen to an unlimited amount of free, ad-supported songs for six months, after which your listening time is restricted to an as-yet-undisclosed number of hours. Ponying up $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year drops the ads and the listening restrictions. A paid subscription is required to listen from a Windows Phone 8 handset or an Xbox 360.

The game console also has access to 70,000 music videos, which you won't find on the Windows-based devices. Xbox Music program manager Scott Porter told the New York Times that Android and iOS apps should pop up sometime next year, as well.

Current Windows users will be left out in the cold, however. Microsoft told The Verge that Xbox Music won't be coming to Windows 7 or Windows Phone 7; instead, owners of current Windows software who want to groove to the beat will need to stick to the Zune service, which will see token legacy support. That's just one more carrot Microsoft's holding out in its quest to convince Windows 7 owners to upgrade to Windows 8 on October 26th.

Related on LAPTOP:

You might also like:

Join the conversation

Comment: 1

lolagrace1979 Oct 15 2012 at 10:17 PM

Microsoft Music Making AppleSauce? The online music wars are definitely providing fodder for the media juggernaut. We're witnesses to a seismic shift in how music is both perceived and delivered ever since the Napster reared its (some might say) ugly head. I actually thought it was kinda cute. If XBOX enjoys just some of the organic traction it achieved in the gaming arena with XBLA then Apple minus Steve Jobs might actually start to feel some tremors if they haven't already. For my part I'm getting 99%

.... More

of my music fix from recently launched fuhshniZZle [ http://www.fuhshnizzle.com ] which has integrated YouTube music videos in a myriad of ways from playlists to actually turning any album into its music video equivalent. No commercials, no registration, incredible playlists, every album available courtesy of Discogs, and they just added a Pandora Radio like feature that lets you take any music video in your playlists and immediately turn it into a custom channel. Best of all I can share any video or even entire mixes from fuhshniZZle to my facebook wall with just a click. I love making mixes for my friends...

Log in or register to post comments
Report This Post

MNN - Mother Nature Network

By

Related Topics:

You might also like:

Join the conversation

TODAY'S MOST POPULAR ON

NEWSLETTER