Microsoft is extending Xbox Music past Windows Phone and Windows 8 with the release of iOS and Android versions.Soon available on their respective app marketplaces, the Xbox Music app allows users to access 30 million tracks, build playlists, and build radio stations around specific songs, artists, or albums. To use the mobile apps, Microsoft requires users to have Xbox Music Pass, which comes in several different pricing structures ($10 per month or $99 per year).
NEW XBOX MUSIC INTERFACE FEATURES
Microsoft’s post-mortem on last year’s service showed that it was encouraging consumers to build large collections of music on top of what they already owned, but the user interface was not good at managing those large collections. The user interface was pretty to look at, but now the team has added ways to help you find the song you want and start playing it more quickly. One of the jokes about last year’s interface was that it took you six clicks to play a song. That suggested that the user interface was deep, something that you could drill down into. But with more things to click upon on the left, the user interface is now “flattened out,”Johnson said.The new Xbox Music has introduced a new navigation bar on the left that lists a bunch of ways to view your collection, explore and discover new music, search for something you want, assemble a playlist quickly based on your tastes, or play existing playlists. Wherever you see content, whether it’s in the Bing search app, you can simply click on a song and play it.“We have a simpler grid control now,” with more text as needed, Johnson said. “Now you can browse through 500 albums quickly and play a song instantly. You can scroll up and down your collection and go through thousands of songs.”Microsoft wants to drive people to build larger collections and discover more music. It believes that its business models and revenues will flow from better consumer engagement.
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