When Xbox Music goes live tomorrow on the Xbox 360, console owners will be the first to access theSpotify-esque service from Microsoft. Well, some of them will at least -- existing Zune Pass subscribers (now an "Xbox Music Pass") and folks willing to pony up $9.99/month or $99.90/year who also have an Xbox Live Gold account gain access to Xbox Music's 30 million global song database via data stream . Okay, okay, a free trial is available for 30 days. After that, though, 360 owners lose access unless they pay up.
Then, on October 26, Windows 8 PC and tablet users get the service for free -- with or without the Xbox Music Pass -- albeit with ads laced in. Windows Phone 8 is in the same boat with Xbox folks: no song-specific streaming without an Xbox Music Pass. That won't arrive until some time "soon after" the PC/tablet version. Microsoft says the ad-supported free streaming is unlimited on PC and tablet, but that's only for the first six months, after which it becomes time limited. A bummer for sure, but Microsoft's banking on you digging the service enough to snag an Xbox Music Pass. But will you?
Like with Spotify and Pandora, some basic artist info, album/song info, and images garnish playing tracks, though not all artists are created equal -- some artists had no images, while others had a detailed dossier. Microsoft says it's adding more all the time, though. Xbox Music Pass holders can hang on to tracks for offline listening as well, which show up in your library and can be added to playlists. And should you wish to listen to a "Smart" radio station based on an artist/song/album, you can employ the "Smart DJ" (previously "Smart Playlist") to create just such a station. The whole shebang is tied directly to your Microsoft login, mirroring settings and library data on all your devices (Xbox 360 included) across the cloud. That same concept applies to playback, as you can pause a song on one device and pick it up right where you left off on another. Songs can also be purchased through the streaming service with or without the Xbox Music Pass, should you really want to hold onto that Barry Manilow track.
The tile and pin design is nigh identical across all Xbox Music platforms -- the now commonplace Microsoft Helvetica against contrasting colors, with content occasionally arranged in sets of tiles. On the Xbox 360 it runs sluggishly, plodding through each menu as the aging hardware is wont to do, though Kinect voice commands help alleviate the feeling of lag. That situation thankfully doesn't apply on tablets and smartphones, at least on the two unnamed devices we used. Navigating content is relatively easy and intuitive, with the touchscreen offering the easiest accessibility -- the Metro UI really begs to be used with a touchscreen device.
Unlike its PC, tablet and smartphone brethren, the 360 version of Xbox Music isn't capable of being used in the background while executing other applications -- everything else aside, this is the service's most glaring flaw. Though some folks may navigate to the Xbox Music application and launch it just to catch up on some tunes, the inability to plug that music into a game experience is a massive oversight. Considering that functionality already exists for music stored on the 360's HDD, it's hard to understand how this doesn't carry over to the company's new flagship music service.
Xbox Music is the next big push for Microsoft, and it launches first on Xbox 360 tomorrow -- replacing both the "Zune" name and Windows Media Player in one fell swoop (the second death of the Zune, if you will). Windows 8 tablets and PCs get it at launch on October 26, while Windows Phone 8 gets it "shortly after." The service is also heading to unnamed other platforms, says Microsoft, "at a later date." When fully launched, Xbox Music and its store will comprise 22 regions worldwide, and the free streaming service for tablet and PC is headed to 15. Microsoft anticipates adding additional regions "throughout the coming year."
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