Microsoft confirms Xbox Music rebrand to Groove

Microsoft rebrands Xbox Music to Groove Music, but nothing major changes, just the name.

Groove Music from Microsoft

Confirmed, Microsoft is rebranding its Xbox Music service to Groove. In a new article at the official Windows Blog, the software giant unveiled that its music streaming service is changing its name, because “Groove” is a name that is more suited and “describes what people feel and do with music.”

At broad, Groove will remain almost identical to Xbox Music, but the company will continue to update it in the regular basis. If you’ve been using the Xbox Music app in Windows 10, then you already have seen what to expect on Groove when Microsoft launches Windows 10 on July 29th.

On Xbox Music, Microsoft killed off the free music streaming feature, and that will continue to be the case with Groove. However, the company is promoting that Groove will support access to play music uploaded to OneDrive, which is a feature anyone will access free of charge on Windows devices, Xbox, iPhone, and Android phones.

Like in Xbox Music, the subscription offering will be kept intact, customers will be able to get a Groove Music Pass for $9.99 a month or $99 per a year of music streaming service without ads and the ability to download music for offline listening.

Although, this isn’t new for Insiders, the company also says that Xbox Video is getting a new name. As many people have already seen in Windows 10 Insider Preview, the Xbox Video app is now simply called “Movies & TV”, which is an app to access movies, TV shows, and the ability to watch your own personal videos.

Through the Movies & TV app, users can buy or rent videos available through the Windows Store, and they will be available across all Windows 10 devices, including Xbox, but the company is not sharing any information if it’s planning to release the same for iOS and Android.

According to Microsoft, Insiders who are testing Windows 10 in the Fast ring of updates will be able to see the new changes in the next public build of the operating system, which indicates that even though we’re still only weeks away from the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft still planning to release new builds of the operating system. In addition, the company is planning to finalize Windows 10 in the coming days and roll out the RTM version to OEMs to gear up for the July 29th launch.

Update, July 7, 2015: Microsoft says that it’s simply called “Groove” and not “Groove Music”, the company has corrected its post to reflect the mistake.  

Source Groove via Microsoft

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.