Microsoft ends free music streaming with Xbox Music

Microsoft will stop offering free streaming music via Xbox Music on December 1. Microsoft earns from advertisements with the free version of Xbox Music for Windows 8 and browsers, but the group will soon only make it a payment service.

Why exactly Microsoft will stop free streaming, the company leaves open. It just says it only wants to focus on the paid version. As of December 1, it will only work in combination with Xbox Music Pass, a subscription that costs ten euros per month. For that amount, customers get ad-free access and can also listen offline if they add songs to their device. Xbox Music Pass works not only with Windows 8 and browsers, but also on Xbox 360 and Xbox One and on mobile devices with Windows Phone, iOS and Android. Subscribers can sync collections, played tracks, and playlists between different devices.

According to Microsoft, the decision will not affect existing collections, but playlists created for free can no longer be listened to without Music Pass from December 1. It is unknown how many users or subscribers Microsoft has for the service. Microsoft has competition in the music streaming market from services such as Spotify, Rdio, Pandora and Deezer.

Microsoft launched Xbox Music in October 2012, with the release of Windows 8. The free version of the service is integrated into Windows 8 and 8.1, and music.xbox.com can also stream music at no cost. The free variant also offers the possibility to create radio stations based on artists. According to Microsoft, there are millions of tracks in the collection.