Groove Music
Xbox Music is an upcoming digital music service by Microsoft. It will be available on Microsoft's line of products including Xbox 360 video game console, Windows 8 PCs and tablets, and Windows Phone devices,[1] and will have over 30 million tracks.[2] Xbox Music is considered successor of Microsoft's Zune brand; because Microsoft plans to discontinue the "Zune" brand in favor of the more successful "Xbox" brand. Microsoft plans to use the Xbox Music service to compete more directly with Apple's iTunes Store, Google's Google Play, and streaming service Spotify. Xbox Music is expected to launch along with Microsoft's mobile operating system Windows Phone 8 on October 26th, 2012.[3]
History
Microsoft had previously ventured into music services with its Zune brand. The Zune Music Marketplace included 11 million tracks. The line of Zune players and Zune music store were somewhat unsuccessful, and the brand was largely discontinued at the beginning of the 2010s, although it continued to exist on different devices and the Zune Music Pass offered unlimited access to songs for 9.99 USD per month.[4]
Meanwhile, Microsoft had been emphasizing the strength of its Xbox brand because of its appeal to consumers. It had been expanding the multimedia services available through its Xbox Live to include services such as a video store and online game marketplace. It decided to introduce a new music service to build upon these existing features.
Microsoft introduced the new service at its press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012 on June 4.
In June 2012, at an event held for Microsoft's upcoming mobile operating system Windows Phone 8, a preview on a prototype device, shows an "App" or Hub labeled "Xbox Music + Video" suggesting that the previously announced Xbox Music and rumored "Xbox Video" services will be integrated into one application.
Functionality
Xbox Music will be available for the Xbox 360 video game console, Windows Phone smartphones, and Windows 8 PCs. The availability across a variety of devices coordinates well with the Microsoft strategy of presence and integration on all devices. Analyst Michael Gartenberg believes the service will be available on iOS devices.[4]
The announcement of the Xbox Music service launched speculation about Xbox Video, a potential service that would offer movies and television series, because the term music in the name of the service gives an impression that Xbox Music will offer strictly music, thus excluding movies and television series. Xbox Live Marketplace's Video Store was taken over by Zune Marketplace on September 15, 2009.[5]
The service provides a variety of methods to access content: through an online store for permanent purchases, via subscription, and through radio.[4] The service will offer 30 million tracks.[4] However, it is not known whether Xbox Music will offer a pay subscription service similar to that of Zune Music Pass.
In September photos were leaked displaying possible Xbox Music pricing in the US. Plans being offered would be a longer 30-day free trial, alongside $9.99 per-month and $99.99 annual subscriptions.
See Also
References
- ^ "Xbox Music service announced, coming to Xbox, Windows Phone, and Windows 8". theverge.com. Retrieved 5/6/2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Microsoft unveils Xbox Music". MSNBC. Retrieved 5/6/2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Xbox Music to launch on October 26th with free ad-supported streaming". The Verge. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
- ^ a b c d http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/06/30-million-track-xbox-music-service-coming-from-microsoft/
- ^ http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/04/r-i-p-zune/?gwh=1818F7B4C81CF40620BD1DAF97C2554D