The past couple of weeks have included some big streaming music news thanks to the debut of free radio stations on Google Play Music and the launch of Apple Music. Now Microsoft is making some news too.
Microsoft is renaming its Xbox Music service to Groove Music. The name change will officially roll out with Windows 10 PCs — the Windows 10 update is going to launch later this month — and Groove will hit other devices in the coming months. Xbox Video is getting renamed also, but rather than becoming Gaze or something similar, it’s getting a much more generic Movies & TV title.
When Groove Music rolls out, it’ll feature light and dark themes along with menus that Microsoft calls “easy-to-use” as well as some touch gestures. The service will offer built-in OneDrive support for uploading your songs to the cloud and then streaming them to the Groove app on Windows devices, Xbox, the web, Android, and iPhone. And just like Xbox Music, Groove will offer paid on-demand streaming for $9.99 per month or $99 per year.
The name changes announced today appear to show Microsoft moving away from its “Xbox all the things!” strategy for entertainment services. The name Groove Music is the third name that Microsoft’s music service has gotten, following Zune and Xbox Music.
