xbox music

More than a year after Microsoft announced its Xbox Music service, the company has finally brought it to the Web.

Microsoft's Xbox Music platform is now available for users in the browser. Customers can head over to its page and stream "millions of songs" from within the browser. Microsoft last week told CNET that the subscription, storage, and track-purchasing service would be coming to the Web, and it has officially made good on that promise.

Microsoft claims to offer "millions of songs" through Xbox Music and allows users to download tracks they purchase to a … Read more

Microsoft is preparing a version of Xbox Music that will offer access to its subscription, storage, and track-purchasing service beyond its current Windows 8 and game console iterations.

"A Web version for Xbox Music will launch next week," a Microsoft spokeswoman said. "We will have more details to share then."

The news of the Web version was first reported by The Verge.

Microsoft baked Xbox Music into Windows 8, when the operating system debuted in October. The company used the leverage of its dominant operating system to help spark the service's business as it competes … Read more

Microsoft has tweaked its Xbox Music app with a few audible enhancements.

The app now lets you add and sync your songs from your local library to the cloud so they're available on your other Windows 8 or RT devices. You can also automatically add any matched songs from your library to the cloud.

You have more options when listening to an album. You can tell the app to repeat as well as shuffle songs. You can turn on a Smart DJ feature that tries to create a playlist based on songs you may like. Finally, Xbox Music offers … Read more

Xbox Music was initially announced in June of this year and released to Xbox 360 users first. When Windows 8 reached general availability on October 26, Xbox Music became available to all Windows 8 users as well. Like Spotify, Microsoft's new music service can stream full songs on demand, as well as play taste-based radio like Pandora. Here's what you need to know to get started with Xbox Music on Windows 8:

To begin using Xbox Music, click on the orange Music tile on your Windows 8 Start screen and sign in with a Microsoft account.

Streaming songs … Read more

While we all patiently wait for Justin Yu's airline troubles to dissipate, CNET editors David Carnoy and Ty Pendlebury join Jeff on the show to chat about the world of self-publishing, the best places to find FLAC music, Microsoft Surface, Xbox Music, and the places you're most likely to break your iPhone.

Topics from today's show:

- Check out David's new book "The Big Exit." Or, for a chance to win a digital or hardcover copy, send an e-mail with "The Big Exit" in the subject line to the404 [at] cnet [dot] com.

- Microsoft Surface dates and prices

- Don't worry, the iPad Mini will come in just 24 easy-to-understand versions.

- Xbox Music is coming. Don't call it Zune!

- Ty's FLAC music-finding guide

- Where you're most likely to break your iPhone. … Read more

Digital music fans have never had more options, but the experience is more fragmented than ever. iTunes rules digital downloads, Spotify is the subscription music leader, and a slew of other services (Rhapsody, Pandora, Rdio, Amazon Cloud Player, Google Music, etc.) fill in the variety of remaining niches.

Xbox Music is Microsoft's latest entry in this space and while it's easy to write it off as another "me too" digital music platform, it's surprisingly comprehensive. Like Spotify, Xbox Music offers free ad-supported streaming of its subscription music library, plus Pandora-like artist-based Internet radio and a … Read more

Microsoft plans to use the full force of its dominant Windows operating system to challenge iTunes and Spotify in the digital music business.

The software giant has baked its new 30-million-track Xbox Music service into Windows 8, making it the default way for users to listen to songs. The service, which CNET first reported in February and the company announced in June, will let users stream music for free, creating custom playlists, as long as they're willing to hear occasional ads. They can also subscribe to an ad-free version for $9.99 a month. And users can buy and … Read more