Microsoft has launched its highly anticipated Xbox Music service for both the Xbox 360 entertainment console and Windows 8 operating system. This new all-in-one service fixes the problem of having tons of individual services to achieve the best music experience.
“There are a lot of individual services that do a good job, but today there isn’t a service which can pull together the benefits of download-to-own, music subscription, or free streaming services. With Xbox Music, what we wanted to do is bring all of that value in one simple, easy-to-use service, then build some additional value on top — make it really beautiful, and have it work across all of your devices. We’ve been able to simplify the music experience in a really powerful way,” Microsoft’s corporate VP of Interactive Entertainment Business Marketing and Strategy, Yusuf Mehdi, stated in an official company post.
Xbox Music allows users to listen to individual songs of full albums for free, while using a Windows 8 based tablet or PC. You can also create music playlists, radio stations based on artists, use Smart DJ to create playlists with unlimited skipping, and purchase music. Best of all, Xbox Music is cloud-based, which means you can sync your settings and playlists across devices.
Xbox Music will come pre-installed with Windows 8 and is the default music player for the operating system. You will see free ad-supported streaming of music on PC, tablet, and smartphone. Users can even purchase a Xbox Music Pass for 10$ and allow you to take your music to the cloud. “All they’ll need to do is sign in, and they’ll instantly have all of their content on that device, including access to the playlists they’ve built,” Microsoft stated. Soon, the Xbox Music app will be available for Android and iOS. Xbox Music rolls out to Xbox 360 owners starting October 16th and Windows 8 users starting October 26th.
