Xbox Music

Oct 16 2012

News - Microsoft Launches Xbox Music

By Matthew Miller

The last we had heard about Microsoft's Xbox Music service, rumors were circulating that it would launch on October 26 along with free ad-supported streaming. Turns out, those rumors were sort of right. Xbox Music launches today on the Xbox 360 alongside a dashboard update. The dashboard update will also bring the Xbox UI more in line with the Windows 8 UI and bring Internet Explorer to the console. As for that October 26 date, that is when Xbox Music will launch for Windows 8. Microsoft had already announced that Xbox Music was in the works but in yesterday's announcement, Microsoft was not only officially announcing the launch dates of the service, but also revealing the full details of what the service brings to the table and making clear that Microsoft is not planning on competing with just iTunes or just Pandora. Xbox Music is taking on all comers.

Microsoft is boasting that Xbox Music's catalog is 30 million tracks strong, and available for individual purchase and for streaming. The free unlimited streaming service will be ad-supported and will be available on Windows PCs and tablets. Users will be able to create playlists, custom stations, and identify favorite artists. The Xbox Music Pass will cost $9.99 a month and will kill the ads and make those playlists and streaming selections available on the Xbox 360 and mobile devices. Initially, mobile devices means Windows Phone 8, but the company also plans to support iOS and Android in the near future. The oft-rumored digital music locker is also coming down the road in the next year. On the legacy front, Zune Pass subscribers are being automatically converted over to Xbox Music Pass, along with 1000 MS points as a "thank you" for continuing with the service, and reportedly the Zune software will also work with Xbox Music allowing for music from the serivce to be synced to Windows Phone 7 devices. 

“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,” Mehdi says. “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

Oct 04 2012

News - Xbox Music Reportedly Launching October 26 with Free Streaming

By Matthew Miller

Microsoft announced Xbox Music at E3 this year, and then promptly stopped talking about it. Rumors swirled that Microsoft was looking into adding a digital locker service similar to iTunes Match to complement the Zune-rebranded services already in place. Now more rumors are swirling that Xbox Music will finally launch on October 26. To be fair, this isn't exactly a blockbuster prediction given that October 26 is also the General Availability date for Windows 8 and the release date for the first wave of Surface tablets, both of which Microsoft has stated would be part of the Xbox Music ecosystem, but it is something. The digital locker service is still reportedly in the mix, integrated with SkyDrive, as are the Zune Pass-style subscriptions, but there might also be free ad-supported streaming, though whether it will be more like Spotify or Pandora remains to be seen. Odds are, it will be more like Zune Channels.

Xbox Music Logo

Microsoft is preparing to launch its Xbox Music service on October 26th. Multiple sources familiar with Microsoft's plans have confirmed the new service will launch at the same time as Windows 8. We're told that subscriptions, like the current Zune Music Pass offering, will be available alongside a free streaming service supported by ads — similar to Spotify. 

The Verge

Jul 03 2012

News - Microsoft Reportedly Looking to Add Digital Locker Service to Xbox Music

By Matthew Miller

Xbox Music

Microsoft took the wraps off of Xbox Music at E3 this year. The announcement was hardly a surprise as the ill-fated Zune hardware, music store, and subscription service has been floundering for years. The only real surprise at the time was that Xbox Music would not launch until this fall, presumably because it will be a part of the Windows 8 rollout. Since the E3 unveiling, there has been one other surprise: how much attention Xbox Music has received. Xbox Music looks to largely be a rebranding of the Zune service which already offers DRM-free music track purchases similar to Amazon and iTunes, Spotify and Pandora-style subscription streaming services, and some level of Xbox integration. All that being said, Microsoft may be trying to build up the service even more according to some recent reports. In addition to getting all of the major music labels onboard with their Xbox-branded music store and streaming services, Microsoft is also reportedly working on an online music locker service similar to iTunes Match. The locker would be accessible across Windows 8-powered devices as well as the Xbox, giving Microsoft a well-rounded service that should respond to just about streaming music competitor in one go.

The company is also seeking to offer Xbox Music users an online locker accessible by multiple mobile devices running Windows 8, the people said. Users could put entire collections online, including music purchased elsewhere, for a monthly or annual fee, they said.

The talks for the Xbox service are still early and Microsoft may not be able to obtain all of the rights it’s seeking, the people said. Even if successful, Microsoft may choose to roll out features over time, they said.

Bloomberg

Jun 05 2012

News - E3: Microsoft Announces Xbox SmartGlass, 35 New Content Partners, Xbox Music

By Matthew Miller

Of the three major console manufacturers, Microsoft is the Johnny-come-lately, but somehow the company has managed to stake out the first slot on the first day of E3 for their keynote over the last few years. For this year's keynote, all ears were perked lest Microsoft let a detail slip about the Xbox 360's successor. In the end, no details slipped and Microsoft showed off a solid line-up of hardcore and casual games, all backed by a big bet on Kinect, but `round these parts, the most interesting announcements related to how Microsoft plans to continue to push the Xbox 360 as the living room media hub.

Xbox SmartGlass

The big news on this front was Xbox SmartGlass. Details first started leaking a couple of days before E3, but no one was exactly sure what to expect until Microsoft took the wraps off of Xbox SmartGlass on stage. Xbox SmartGlass is an app that will be available on Windows 8, Windows Phone, iOS, and Android devices this fall that offers Xbox remote control, media hand-off and play-to functions, and supplemental experiences for games and media. The first two functions appear to be a refined and slightly enhanced version of what the Xbox Companion App currently provides, except cross-platform. It's the last feature that offers the most intriguing opportunities for the future. During the keynote, Microsoft demonstrated an example of the Xbox playing back an episode of Game of Thrones while, on a tablet, Xbox SmartGlass showed a map of the character's off-screen journey through the realm, as well as an example of the Xbox playing Halo 4 while Xbox SmartGlass was displaying Halo WayPoint updates on a mobile device.

While gaming pundits seem to be quick to characterize Xbox SmartGlass as a response to the Wii U GamePad's auxiliary screen functionality for gaming, this is only part of what Xbox SmartGlass brings to the table. The real target here actually appears to be Apple. With the Xbox, Kinect and Xbox SmartGlass, Microsoft is positioned to offer the streaming media functionality of the Apple TV, Siri-like interaction with the home theater and a credible Apple AirPlay competitor, all wrapped up in a high-quality video gaming system and support for your choice of mobile devices, including ones you probably already own. The ribbon on the package was the announcement that Internet Explorer is also coming to the Xbox and that Xbox SmartGlass will offer an option for controlling the experience in lieu of a mouse and keyboard.

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