Ready to Rock? Web-based Xbox Music Service Goes Live with Free 30 Day Trial
Put your dancing shoes on and/or bust out your air guitar (or any other instrument you're good at fake playing), Microsoft's Xbox Music service is now available on virtually any operating system via web browsers. Serving as a replacement to Zune, Xbox Music launched last year for Windows 8 devices and on the Xbox 360 console. Now it's available on the web, and if you want to kick the tires, you're welcome to do so with a 30 day trial.
The 30 day trial requires a Microsoft account and credit card, the latter of which will be charged when it automatically flips over to a paid monthly subscription (unless you cancel before the trial period ends and/or turn off automatic renewal). Zune Pass trial users are not eligible for the free month of service. Should you decide to subscribe, Xbox Music runs $9.99/month, or $99.90 for 12 months, essentially giving you two months free if you prepay for a year in advance.
Microsoft says its service offers unlimited streaming access to "millions of songs." For the sake of comparison, Spotify boasts 20 million tracks, Google Play Music All Access advertises "18 million+" songs, and Slacker says its music library is "more than 10 million songs deep."
Xbox Music is not yet available natively on iOS or Android, though Microsoft said it has plans to support both mobile platforms before the end of the year.
The 30 day trial requires a Microsoft account and credit card, the latter of which will be charged when it automatically flips over to a paid monthly subscription (unless you cancel before the trial period ends and/or turn off automatic renewal). Zune Pass trial users are not eligible for the free month of service. Should you decide to subscribe, Xbox Music runs $9.99/month, or $99.90 for 12 months, essentially giving you two months free if you prepay for a year in advance.
Microsoft says its service offers unlimited streaming access to "millions of songs." For the sake of comparison, Spotify boasts 20 million tracks, Google Play Music All Access advertises "18 million+" songs, and Slacker says its music library is "more than 10 million songs deep."
Xbox Music is not yet available natively on iOS or Android, though Microsoft said it has plans to support both mobile platforms before the end of the year.
