Xbox Music Coming to Unite all of Your Listening Habits

Microsoft can proudly announce the impending arrival of Xbox Music across Xbox 360, Windows 8, Windows Tablets and Windows Phone 8 platforms around the world.

The service will allow users to stream music seamlessly between their different devices, with download-to-own music providers and internet radio channels to make use of, as well as subscription services to allow all users to listen to as muich music as they would like, anywhere. You can listen to music you have purchased on your phone, then streaming it to your tablet and then smartglass it to your living room TV, there are a multitude of ways to enjoy your library of songs.

The all-in-one Xbox Music service includes the following:

• Free streaming1 music on Windows 8 and Windows RT. Enjoy on-demand access to tens of millions of songs for free on all Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets and PCs. Discovering and enjoying free music on Windows 8 and Windows RT is as easy as typing an artist or song name and hitting “play” — songs are instantly available to stream and for you to create an unlimited amount of playlists.
• Xbox Music Pass. Want unlimited access to the songs and artists you care about, including offline access? Get an Xbox Music Pass for ad-free, unlimited playback of any track in our subscription catalogue across your tablet, PC, phone and Xbox 3601 for £8.99 per month.2 Xbox Music Pass also unlocks unlimited access to tens of thousands of music videos on your Xbox 360.
• Xbox Music Store. Want to own the music you love? The Xbox Music Store is a comprehensive MP3 marketplace giving you the opportunity to purchase a single track or entire album on your Windows 8 or Windows RT tablet or PC and Windows Phone 8.
• Smart DJ. Creating a new form of artist-based radio, the Smart DJ feature is a quick and dynamic way to personalise your collection, discover new favourites and create ultimate playlists by launching instant mixes based on your favourite artists. With unlimited skips and a view of the full recommended music stream, Smart DJ puts you in control of your Internet radio experience.
• Cloud Storage. Available in the coming year, a scan-and-match feature will take you beyond the 30 million tracks globally offered through Xbox Music. It will add all the music you own to your Xbox Music cloud catalogue, including music acquired through other services. This means you can add almost any content you have to your personal Xbox Music collection, even if it’s not available in the Xbox Music catalogue.
• Social Music. Xbox Music will add unique social features in the coming year that let you share your music experiences with friends and family.
• Platform Expansion. Xbox Music will become available on other platforms in the coming year.

The Xbox Music update will be part of the 2012 Xbox 360 console update. This will begin rolling out across twenty-two worldwide markets on October 16th. It also begins rolling out on mobile platforms and Windows 8 this week.