Monday, Microsoft said that it plans to discontinue its Groove Music Pass streaming service. Going forward it will forgo it’s own streaming service and instead partner with Spotify. If you aren’t familiar with Groove, it was previously the Xbox Music service which was re-branded with the release of Windows 10. Groove allowed users to download or stream millions of songs and upload their own music using a OneDrive account.
On December 31st, Microsoft will suspend the ability to stream, purchase and download music in Groove. The app will continue to support playback and management of music you may already own.
Starting this week, Microsoft will be rolling out updates to make the transition from Groove to Spotify easier for current users. Spotify is a leader in streaming services across all platforms; Microsoft used this justification as to one of the biggest reasons they decided to partner with them to transition its Groove users.
The Groove Music Pass has gone through several names throughout the years. Despite the new names Microsoft failed to gain traction in the busy streaming marketplace. Recently Microsoft has been removing services that are struggling, choosing to partner in areas that they have not found success with.
Most are happy to see Goove transition to the more established Spotify service after years of rebrands. How has your experience been with Groove over the years? Is the move to Spotify a welcomed upgrade, or are you sad to see it go?
