Groove Music Set to be Axed by Microsoft

Its handful of users will be heartbroken.

Groove Music originally began life on the Xbox as a music streaming and download service. It was later brought into Windows as being the ‘default’ audio player which will still be familiar to many of us from Windows 7 onwards.

It is not known if the deal is in any relation to the recent announcement of Spotify entering the hardware market.

This does represent something that Microsoft has become a little synonymous for in recent years. They were too late to the party. By the time Groove Music rebranded in 2015, Spotify and iTunes already had the market pretty much sewn up. Sure, there is always room for the ‘little guy’, but that is hardly Microsoft’s remit.

When a partnership was announced earlier in the year between Microsoft and Spotify, the writing was on the wall for Groove Music and today, Microsoft delivered the death blow.

Groove Music, as of December 31st, 2017, will no longer engage in music download or streaming reports PCGamesN.

Groove Music will live on, but a shell of its former self.

It will, of course, continue to operate as a music playing app. One in which, I might add, is more than competent.

Any users who currently have a subscription beyond the new year line as well need not worry. Microsoft has promised that they will either credit your Microsoft account to the value or attempt to transfer this to Spotify.

Spotify is certainly a lot more convenient for music streaming. In addition, the app has gained a lot of popularity for its ability to run in the background, particularly on the PS4. This has allowed users to game with their own custom soundtrack playing in the background. A great idea, particularly if you prefer your retro gaming soundtracks.

So, therefore, we bid farewell to Groove Music, we barely knew thee.

Will you miss Groove Music or will you barely notice it? Let us know in the comments.