Microsoft to Launch Music Streaming Service
UK newspaper The Telegraph today reports that Microsoft is working on a music streaming service which it hopes to have ready by the end of this month. The Telegraph cites Peter Bale, executive producer of MSN who said, “Music is an important area for Microsoft. We are looking at launching a music streaming service imminently." Bale went on to say that it would be a similar service to Spotify, but that Microsoft is still examining how the business model will work.
Bale told the Telegraph that the service would be operated and owned by Microsoft, while being promoted through MSN and other parts of the Microsoft network. However he also hinted the service could be tied in with Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console, which would make for a nice addition to the Netflix partnership Microsoft has in place.
For those unfamiliar with Spotify, the service (currently only available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, France and Spain) allows users to listen to free music through a stand-alone application. In exchange for the all you can eat music buffet, users are served one minute of advertising every 30 minutes. If you decided to pay £9.99 a month for the service, you can cut out the aforementioned ads.
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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nirvanabah Wow, soon MS will literally rule the world. More power to them though, free music apps are great IMO.Reply -
apmyhr I must have been mistaken, but I always thought Pandora was somehow owned by Microsoft.Reply -
bfstev what would be awesome is if you could integrate it with xbox live to listen to this and play halo, or whatever, at the same time and manage it from a tab of the ingame dashboard like how you can with your music library. That would be freakin awesome.Reply -
Wayoffbase this is the right way to cut back on piracy, give the people what they want, and still make a little coin in the dealReply -
the_one111 Wayoffbasethis is the right way to cut back on piracy, give the people what they want, and still make a little coin in the dealTypical win/win situation.Reply
Finally a company seems to be getting the big picture. -
I'm from Sweden and have tested spotify for a while.Reply
It's a wonderful application and i recommend it to everyone with the opportuinity to test it! -
TheMan1214 Gotta love free music...Pandora is great for discovering music but i wanna hear what i want when i wantReply