Is Microsoft getting out of the Xbox Music and Video business? Nadella suggests they might (Updated)

Readers of this site know that Microsoft's Xbox Music and Video are good services at their core, but many speed bumps keep them from reaching their potential. Whether it is stiff competition from Amazon and Apple or an awkward software experience, the Microsoft teams behind both services have their work cutout for them. Toss in the rebuilding attempts at the Xbox Music app for Windows Phone 8.1, and many consumers are left frustrated.

In yesterday's earnings call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella dropped a strong, but subtle, hint that Xbox Music and Video may be on the chopping block.

Quoting from the transcript, Nadella notes in passing:

"With our decision to specifically focus on gaming, we expect to close Xbox entertainment studios and streamline our investments in music and video. We will invest in our core console gaming in Xbox live with a view towards the broader PC and mobile opportunity."

The news of the Xbox entertainment studios shutting down came out last week as it was part of the general 18,000 layoffs from the company. The potential of Xbox entertainment studios was never realized, cut short before it had a chance to rise or fail. One could argue that Microsoft producing their own shows is veering dramatically off course for what is essentially a software company, making this the right – but tough – decision for Nadella.

However, the part where Nadella pronounces that they are streamlining their "investments in music and video" is troubling. As Microsoft watcher Paul Thurrott commented on Twitter on what "streamline" means he observes it "…doesn't mean maintain or expand, for starters."

Nadella seems to be pushing Microsoft back into its primary mission, and for Xbox One that is pure gaming. Microsoft shuttering Xbox entertainment studios is sensible, even if the prospect of a hit show is enticing (see Amazon and Netflix's success with producing their own series). Nevertheless, Xbox Music and Xbox Video, both of which grew out of Zune, seems like a natural extension of media in the living room and even more so for mobile. Nadella appears to be second guessing their investment in those services, calling into question their future. At the very least, Nadella is curtailing that group within the company.

Microsoft is undoubtedly in a tough position here. Companies like Amazon and Apple have already had a lock on streaming and music purchases. Toss in streaming juggernauts Spotify, or Pandora, and the argument for Xbox Music is a tough one to make. Is Microsoft stretching itself too thin just to reinvent the wheel? Better yet, what is the argument for Xbox Music and Video in terms of actual advantages to end-users (versus competing products)? Up until now Microsft has not differentiated themselves enough from their opponents, giving consumers little incentive to move forward.

I know many people have half-heartedly joked that Microsoft should just give up on Xbox Music, especially after the app situation on Windows Phone 8.1. Well, you may just get your wish.

Update 2:30 PM ET - Microsoft's Joe Belfiore has taken to Twitter to assure that his team is still working on the software for Xbox Music and Video:

"Don't worry, no plan to drop Xbox Music/Video-- my team builds these key scenarios for tablets, phones, PCs! And Xbox team does on console...In fact, we have one of our bigger/stronger Xbox Music updates just a couple weeks away…you're gonna like it. Perf, fixes and some features!"

In other words, the software that powers Xbox Music and Video will go on, though questions about Microsoft's commitment to the services still remain for some.

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.

603 Comments

Lol even less app updates for Xbox Music? I think so, Nadella!
Of course, Nadella could have simply been referring to Nokia's Music service. But I think it would make more sense for Microsoft to let a more interested party run the backend of the music and video apps.
If the service wasn't so expensive, id use it. But they need to just include it in Xbox Live, because nobody wants to pay two expensive Xbox subscriptions...
I wish they did what Amazon Prime does, 1 subscription for EVERYTHING, music, video, online gaming
Yep, love my Amazon prime!
If only we could add flash like you can on an Android phone, then we could enjoy Amazon Prime content on our phone.
Flash for Android is dead since 4.0 was announced. Also Amazon uses Silverlight and not flash.
Yeah they can even do the free shipping thing with the Microsoft Store. One subscription for Xbox Live, video, music, Skype and free shipping from the MS Store. I've never understood why they didn't offer service bundles to customers. I think that's the best way to get people try out the MS services that they would otherwise probably go without.
They do then people complain about all the stuff they are paying for but don't want. I personally love my XBMusic subscription and I also have gold as well. If I had to use iTunes I'd never listen to music probably. I like one account to maintain all of my purchases and subscriptions and it being on every device I use pretty much.
Except no WP8.1 app for it. Also, would like to see Prime include linked accounts as I use Amazon for business (purchasers) and personal use (video and kindle). I agree though, if Xbox went down this route it around be a lot more enticing. I do however love Xbox Video. I know you pay per film but the films are far more current than Netflix or Amazon (formerly Love Film) and that to me is a key differentiator. Only wish they could include this nervous l marvelous library within a prescription (Xbox Live Gold)
I can't wait for Amazon prime apps for windows phone
Except AP music selection for streaming sucks.
You could say that if that was the only service they were offering. But, as I package, it is pretty good. Also, it probably depends on your music style. I have Amazon Prime for the shipping and have found that Instant Video has a little different variety than Netflix, so I watch both, even though some would say that Instant Video sucks compared to Netflix. From that perspective, I have also been checking out Prime Music the last week or two and already have a 100 song Classic Rock playlist and a 100 song Rock playlist. Sure, they don't have everything I wanted, but it's nice having playlists that I can just turn on in the background when cleaning or whatever and it's included in a service that I'm already paying for.
They should make it like MixRadio! I use MixRadio because it is free. I tried Xbox Music, but couldn't justify paying $10 a month for it. I think the streamlining is about the spinoff of MixRadio.
MixRadio plays a mix of songs and not any song you want when you want
Bing Rewards will pay for an XBOX Music subscription. 940 credits for a 1-month pass. (950 for non-Gold members)
940 credits require too many searches in a month...I doubt if one can do that :)
I agree. Xbox vid, music should all be included in a single Xbox live subscription. Somewhat like amazon. There would be significant value there and a compelling reason to use these services.
Why not revive Zune? Ah... Dreaming....
Good idea! Maybe just market a unified "Microsoft One" account that gets you Office 365, Xbox Gold, and Xbox Music.
Agreed
That would be great! But Microsoft loves money, so that won't happen.
Yes. They are so unlike their competitors who aren't into money.
True, seems like gold members get very little. The free games are mostly old. And, so on and so forth...
On XB1 they are pretty new (some are release games like Guacamelee!) so very nice. And getting 4 games a month isn't horrible. I mean its only $5/month if you pay full retail I think so It still amazes me that they give games away at all, it's got to be a serious loss unless they can convert some of those to expansion sales...
I think this is what they mean by streamline....Xbox Live subscription should get you music and video...... Basically, cut out Netflix, and Pandora/Spotify/Beats
How is it expensive its library is superior to any other service and its available on my Xbox one, my phone, tablet and PC for offline and streaming use for the same price as competitors
Spotify costs 9.99, Google Now costs 9.99, what are you complaining about
Excellent point that he may have meant, and in the short term for sure did include in his statement, divesting Nokia Mix Radio.
It would make more sense to keep the one that doesn't suck hard. MixRadio is the only decent music app on WP right now.
I would hope that he's speaking figuratively and not literally because I like having the ability to stream music to all my devices. I've tried Nokia Music on my tablet and in order to receive all the features, you have to buy a subscription. I think it would be better suited for MS if they corralled all the people who worked on the Zune application and the Zune software and have them work with some people who worked on the Nokia Mix application. It would be the best of both worlds. I prefer Xbox Music over Pandora or Spotify and that is just my personal preference, but to kill the division off is ludicrous especially when Apple just spent $3 Billion to gain a foothold in the music streaming business. They should form some alliances with more record labels, recording artists and compete head to head with iTunes and Amazon Prime (who is new to the streaming service game BTW). I don't know if GooglePlay has streaming capabilities or not. I sincerely hope he was just speculating and not meaning to go forward with such a decision.
Google also have a service. I love Xbox Music and Xbox Video. I always rent videos once a week on my Xbox One and pay 9.99 a month for my music pass subscription. Nadella ruined Microsoft
Nadella is the devil. I was saying this guy was gonna ruin Microsoft. It's like he's fighting tooth and nail to live in the past and not move forward with the future. I hope he disappears, seriously.
He's trying to cut off all the branches of MS, thinking that the trunk will grow better.....but really he is just killing it
Agreed.
Agree. How do You Americans call it? Stupid Fuck? Nadelle has to go. Nobody needs him. He is leading us back to Win3.1
agreed
You don't need to be so harsh. He's "lost my vote" as favorite CEO already, but I wouldn't say he's the devil. I will admit his vision for MS is looking less like a "Mobile First" Microsoft and more of the Microsoft that would of been had they not made Windows 8 & Windows Phone and rather shifted to releasing products on other platforms (AKA the 'old' Microsoft, only now with Office for iPad). I'm not particularly thrilled about threshold, nor am I a fan of how Silverlight is slowly being put out to pasture. So far everything that's been going on this past year with Microsoft disheartens me...
I disagree. I think he is cutting out the unsuccessful parts of the business.
Well WP is unsuccessful so far...should he cut that out too? When does it end?
They'd have to make a business decision and decide if WP is profitable for long term business. Personally, I feel like if WP is/was going to be successful it should have grown a lot more by now. I am personally disappointed in it's low market share and would understand if they looked at that and focused more on their core PC/mobile OS. Although when threshold comes out and the OS's are the same, I think that it will become easier to keep WP alive.
He's just trimming the fat, the ugly smelly fat. Xbox as a whole would be next if XBone hadn't just release.
Xbox was a money dump for like 12 years. Only in the last year or so has the Xbox division even been profitable. So why would they kill off something they have invested over a decade in, when it finally starts netting them money?
XBox video is and has always been in some dire need of a subscription service, just like Netflix and Amazon Prime. XBox Music has always suffered from lack of exposure, promotion and any advertising dollars. The service is built, the backend is built, the the TV channels should go under Xbox Video and Microsoft needs to better partner with labels to make sure new releases also include the XBox Music brand right next to iTunes. It's like they have no idea how to use the infrastructure and branding that they've created. They are their own worst enemy.
Streamlining doesn't sound bad. The services suck now and why try to be a radio service or music selling service when wet have so many of those already? Good for Nadella but I hope streamlining at least means we can use these base apps for watching and listening our music/videos without hitches once and for all... Does anyone really need a music pass? It would be nice if they at least let us make our own cloud home servers and play music from manual libraries...
Its good if they chop Xbox music and videos off. The old music+videos hub was nice and stable.
If they are giving Xbox Music and Xbox Video the chop it will be the services not the app.
We will most likely still have the app but not the service
Doesn't bother me tbh we have mix radio for streaming needs
Not for long.
Those hubs are what make me miss Windows Phone 8.... Too many things are messed up since 8.1.
Yeah the backtracking on the Xbox One to make it "Just another console" was frustrating and annoying. Now the backtracking on integration and the core power of Windows Phone makes it "Just another phone". I bought a Windows Phone originally for Zune... and then they released this steaming turd of a Music app for Windows Phone 8. I'm seriously almost out of reasons to bother with Microsoft's products.
Im with you on that... but think for a second. Satya is referring to the SERVICE of what is essentially Xbox Music & Video. If they chop that off we STILL have the software apps (duhh we need apps to play music and video on our phones lol) So maybe the app itself can be as feature rich as Zune was :) sure we don't get the streaming service but it sounds like many of us just want a bad ass app that can tie into ANY service we choose.
The hubs are one part of why I fell in love with WP7. They all made sense. Now they're all slowly dying and WP is slowly becoming like it's competitors one little bit at a time. Kinda sad honestly.
I agree. Slowly they are moving to the app section. Photo hub is changed, skydrive, slowly one by one.
Anyways Xbox music and Xbox videos were never available here in India so it won't make any difference
Right. But yet, I loved the old hubs obviously (ignoring the playlist creation hassle). New Xbox Music app has improved but not that stable yet. Personally speaking, I was a fan of all the hubs that were in 8.0. Basically the photos hub. But now, it looks more like Android. I wish the old hubs were back *_*
About the Photo Hub, I totally agree. They removed the paronama view from both Photo Hub and the Store, which distinguishes themselves from other platforms, and make the new hub cold black... Honestly, I think Microsoft has stopped making Windows Phone different after 8.0...
You're right. The photo hub panorama was awesome. The new black background SUCKS!! It's like a rev1 app. Why does Microsoft keep shooting themselves in the foot?
No they are not shooting themselves in the foot... THEY ARE SHOOTING THEMSELVES IN THEIR F****** OWN FACES!
Exactly, Panoramic view was the reason I loved the old Photos hub. I wish I could use it somehow (without losing 8.1)... Just as I can use the old Music Hub using "Music Hub Tile" app
I can not figure out why they continue to jerk everyone around with these lame UI changes. They are not subtle changes either and they always result in a feature being taken away, not added. No wonder we're in the mess we are. Who is approving these changes?
Umm... I don't remember it correctly but I remember an explanation from MSFT as to why they changed the Photos hub. They told most of the clicks users made in their period of research, were all gone for "Camera Roll". So they reorganized the Camera Roll photos position such that you can see them at a glance after opening the app. But what was wrong with the UI is another question. They thought a background image under the photos tiles might look messy, so rather made it black (I think so). But I guess, they could do better. They could just make the background image a little darker (with black opacity effect, same as you find on lockscreen wallpaper!). In that case, there won't be any problem if the color of photos match with those of the background image.
Yeah I read that too, at least I knew why they do that. Layouts changes are okay, even quite useful, but WHY THE F*** ON EARTH COULDN'T THEY EVEN LEAVE A SINGLE OPTION FOR US?? Increasing in system's requirements? LOL! These Hubs are what disappoint me the most in my first time I put my hands on 8.1.
It's as if you better not like anything about the UI because they will just take it away.
Perhaps someday (Windows Phone 8.2 or so) they will simply disable Transparent Start Screen just because it looks distracting? ;)
I like this UPDATE news from Joe Belfiore!
You are right, Gautam, that's what THEY thought, but that's total bullsh*t. As if it was only about to come as fast as possible to what you aim for. Sometimes it is about to ENJOY the way to it. Another similarily absurde statement would be: We managed you don't have to undress the person you adore, you dont't have to do much to come immediately to an orga*m. Now, it's one click less! WE ENJOYED THE PANORAMA VIEW OF OUR FAVOURITE PICTURES AND WE DON'T GIVE A SH*T FOR ONE CLICK LESS!
I think they should keep them separate but integrate them back into the OS. They made standalone apps for more regular updates but these bug fixes wouldn't exist if they had kept them built-in. One update per GDR would be sufficient to add features.
+930
+520 :D
If they drop music and video I'm jumping ship ps4 android here i come
lol... umm worst case scenario they drop the SERVICE NOT THE APP. If their devices don't have a native music/video player no one will buy their devices.
The service what I'm talking about I started buy all my movies from Xbox video since there cheaper than blurays and I own win 8 ,3 Lumia phones ,Xbox 360 & one
I'd have to agree here. I use Xbox music and Xbox video because it can be used for everything.
They need to lock people in to an eco system properly. People don't leave Apple even if they're bored of it because all of their content is there. I use both services frequently across my surface, phones and Xbox One. All this restructuring makes me doubtful that I made the right choice to move back to MS two years ago...
Completely agree with HalfBlackCanadian! I use xbox music across all my windows devices including my xbox one and WinPhone. The services themselves aren't the problem, its the visibility and apps pushing the services that needs work. Seems to be a step back if they do cut back on them. I wouldn't be impressed!
If they drop the service what will happen with the bought movies and the licences? I have bought a few myself.
My problem is the Xbox music app... It stinks! They should have worked on making the app itself play music really well then added the streaming part. It is missing things a good music player needs...
That's the problem though for those who stream only and don't own. Of they drop Xbox Music unlike unlimited streaming, what are my choices across all my Windows devices. It will make be seriously reconsider my eco system...
Exactly! No one makes one for windows devices.
This is the only reason I'm an Xbox Music subscriber, its the only option that will work on my WP, PC and Xbox One. If they want to kill the service it doesn't bother me, just allow other options on Xbox One first! I much prefer Rhapsody to Xbox Music on WP and PC - if a Rhapsody app is ever allowed for Xbox One I'll be ditching Xbox Music before Microsoft has a chance to kick me out anyways.
I have 5000+ songs through my Xbox Music Pass. Paying a little a month is a great deal for me. I download roughly 3 albums a month with it. If Xbox Music shuts down I will have to resort to the more expensive Beats Music or Spotify, or I will just illegally remove the DRM protection from all my music and pirate everything like I used to. Actually I would probably be so pissed off I would switch to a lagdroid.
This. I have Xbox Music synced across phone, computer, and XBox One. What are the options for streaming music on XBox One, much less syncing? I don't know, because just how well Xbox music works, I've never had to look for alternatives and I don't want to. They take that away, and that would be a major hole in their ecosystem. That being said, the wp8.1 music app has a Long Way to go before it's really back to good. It's almost ok. But please, fix it don't toss it!
Spotify.
Check out WiMP, pretty decent, I think. Not affiliated, just a customer.
They have apps on all major platforms, including Windows Store. I run in on my desktop using ModernMix. Quite nice.
why have an app with no service, not sure what the point of that would be.
Seriously, it is like MS wants to pick apart what I use so leaving them will be easier.
That is EXACTLY how I feel. Everything I liked about Windows phone is being stripped away in front of my eyes... And they wonder why market share isn't increasing!
Now my only difficult division will be Android or iPhone
Agreed. I think I'm going to have to go with Android, unless iOS gets some major updates to the start screen. I can't stand the grid of icons.
i swapped my 1520 for a moto x, sad but msft is ruining what i liked about wp, and google is improving a lot. oh well sad msft
Why did you go with a smaller phone? That's just a bit odd XD
Totally with you. Ever since installing WP8.1 I've been counting the days until I can switch to iOS or Android. It's actually quite refreshing, knowing I can choose the best phone/platform and not be restricted by my previous ecosystem choice, because they've killed it for me.
Me too, I was wanting to stay in this ecosystem. If they drop it I am definitely jumping ship.
I will likely leave MS entirely as they are making me lose confidence in their products. I hate Android and I'm not a fan of iOS or OSX but I don't see iTunes shutting down any time soon. They seem like they want to go the old IBM route of just becoming an enterprise company just as IBM is teaming up with Apple to get some of the consumer pie.
It really sucks if that is the case because I have been a loyal and enthusiastic MS consumer for 19 years and this could be the last disappointment I can handle from them.
I am jumping ship to amazon. They have everything in one roof plus I am a prime member. Nadella is killing everything. I don't know how he plans to survive
If I jump, I will likely also go to Amazon. Their music tends to be the cheapest and I already use Kindle for my books. The Fire phone looks interesting... The Fire tablet needs more oompf, but It might get there soon....
He doesn't plan to survive. The model is one seen many times. Cut everything that is not a major profit line, regardless of potential; boost short term numbers; layoff more than is healthy; make short sellers happy; and then try to figure out what happened after you replace the CEO in a couple years when the company is dead in the water with collapsing marketshare.
Enterprise only, like Blackberry......
I love my S5, and, i sold my PS4 because ...... Well i didn't used it at all ....
Totally agree, XBox Music (maligned as it maybe) and Video are the only reason I need my XBox anymore, I haven't bought a game since Halo 4. Drop those two surfaces and the value prop of the total MS ecosystem drops like a rock, it's why I wanted a Surface instead of an iPad or Android tablet. No native music and video and there will be nothing keeping me from bolting for iOS.
But the thing I loved about Microsoft is the all in one,music,video and gaming...
I second that, I hated using Google's music service.
I third it!
Fourth!
Google's All Access Music is terrific, and works much better than Xbox Music. Even Paul Thurrott uses it.
This would be a terrible move, especially if MS wants to be in the services business without a Music/Video option...
Xbox music and video is one of the main reasons I chose WP. Now I have xbox music pass with loads of tracks as well as purchased tv, videos etc.
So what now? Access to all of these will stop?
So not happy if this occurs. SERIOUSLY! Also, going WP influenced and made it easy to move from Android and get a Surface. It was the ONE package that bought me here. No one package then going somewhere else becomes easier, SERIOUSLY!
Has anybody been listening to Nadella? He's interested in partnerships with other companies. All Balmer did by trying to copy every innovative service was alienate such arrangements. As far as Xbox Music is concerned, if it is cancelled, then a few things might happen. 1. You start over with a different Music subscription service from scratch. 2. You start over downloading all those songs from Napster/Limewire/Kazaa/eDonkey/uTorrent/Rapidshare/etc/etc/etc 3. Microsoft hands off Xbox Music subscriptions to a third party like Rdio/Spotify/Amazon Music/Sony Music with your library intact in exchange for purchase of Azure bandwidth, Server licenses, SQL licensing, etc. IMO, option 3 looks like the ideal & is probably what is being actively sought after. So fret naught.
Or 4, find another provider of phones, tablets and services that are not at risk of being cancelled, sold off or closed!
You just hit telcos, hardware manufacturers, software suppliers, and content providers in one sentence;;;;;;;;;;;;; applause;;;;;;;;;;;;;
This is about MS. I bought a WP and then a Surface to take advantage of the ecosystem. I also got Office365, because of the ecosystem. I subscribe to Xbox music, because of the ecosystem. I moved from Android because MS was a better ecosystem. Now start closing down parts of the ecosystem and people will look elsewhere, as many comments here support. So the short term gain of closing down Xbox music would lose to overall loses across the ecosystem. Looks like MS are concentrating on enterprise. With Apple currently teaming up with IBM for the enterprise market, Google, Blackberry and Amazon contending too, as well as many others, it seems futile to alienate the consumer market. Seems the Nokia/Blackberry lessons have not been learnt here!
This man gets it
Right. Apple is partnering with IBM. But who is MS partnering with on the consumer side? Their biggest push consumer-wise for over a decade has always been the television. So what has that produced? Media Center? Unenforced cable-card legislation? Comcast TV app on Xbox 360? ATT Uverse receiver app on XBox 360? Windows Embedded will be taking a hit as many of the telcos have moved away from Windows Embedded IP TV to inhouse solutions. Comcast has the X1/X2. Dish partnered with Slingbox for the Hopper, Sony for the PS3, and Apple for tablets. There's still no Windows app from Dish. The big hope for MS on this front would be for the ATT/DirecTV merger to go through and then being able to ink the deal to provide the OS for their next generation of set-top boxes perhaps through IoThings initiative. That's the thing about the "ecosystem", its so fucking large. It is impractical for one company to attack it on every front. Nadella is scaling back planned penetration on other fronts before they're too heavily invested. I imagine he would scrap WP if.... O wait. WP has been scrapped. Soon there will just be Windows. It will soon encompass the full gamut of devices He's making the right decisions with the right people surrounding him. After all, it is a team effort
Woah, that's too US centric for me. What about the rest of the world, like the majority of the planet. Unless MS is going USA only, now there's a way to streamline!
Argh. You got me.
+920
I agree, I bought into WP7 because of the Zune music player. I love music, I download three to four albums a week usually. If the service were to disapear I would have to re-evaluate my stance with windows phone. I mean dont get me wrong I love my 1520 but for me the core service has been the music for me. There are other phones out there with great displays and amazing cameras that will give me acces to the internet and get my email. I'm not sure if continuing to feel like a beta tester for MS would be worth it without the music service. More time than not I am waiting in anticipation for services other phones have brought to the market.
Same here. As long as we get very little support on WP from other services, what are we supposed to do?
Agreed, I don't recall ever making this statement, but if Xbox music goes I will leave WP. Hate even saying it :(
Agreed. That's the whole reason Apple and Google get money is through those services. Why get rid of it completely?
Dont worry this story seems to be click bait as nadella also talked about "streamlining" the operating systems which doesn't mean they are going away. "We will streamline the next version of Windows from three operating systems into one single converged operating system for screens of all sizes," Nadella told press and analysts listening to the call.
The fact the CEO does not know the company has more than three Windows OS platforms is reason enough to worry. Windows, Windows Phone, Windows RT, Windows Embedded, Windows Server are the short list of OSs. What you should also note is that streamlining the "three" does not mean all platforms will be supported. Barring internal power play, streamlining always means the same thing and it does not mean anything good.
Me too, all the way back to the OG Xbox in 2001 and it's ability to rip music from CDs and build custom soundtracks in games that supported the feature. It's a shame. That said, and as much as I love Xbox Video, and purchase a lot of content there, it's a non-streaming service in a streaming world so I can see what the problem is.
Same here, seems they may take that away from us...
+1
Just bring back Media Center
LIES
I would say Microsoft's biggest customer problem is that they have a history of generating ideas with great potential. Drifting from the vision along the way, and then cancelling them. It could be true, or it could be lies. But this is unfortunately the price they are paying for their past actions.
I say cut a deal with Amazon to be the prime provider of music and video (and allow all Xbox Music and Video purchases transfer over to Amazon) and cut the departments. But only after a six month transition period to allow people to get used to the new set up.
That is a good idea. Actually.
This is about the only way I could support this. Of course, it would have to mean that Amazon would give top tier streaming and apps to Windows and WP. So far their support of the Windows platforms had been pathetic. No music and video support, and their kindle app is hopelessly out of date.
But this is only for music not the apps side
But how about the integration into the OS as well as purchases and Windows OS integration..... If Microsoft had some your of togetherness this could be avoided I don't understand how they can be so disorganized to have once been so successful (not to say they still aren't but they aren't the leader they once were) and still be stuck a large company.... This is ask just organizational things.... It's not like we are asking for the dopest most crackest service just keep updating and and feature as well as adored boost. Cutting services like this just causes panic and distrust in the Microsoft as a whole
No looking for stuff on Amazon videos is worse than Xbox music
I could handle that. They have to have something lined up to take their place if they're going to drop their own services, or they are just telling people to bail on their own platforms.
Yes, I buy all my music from Amazon and would be more willing to buy video there as well. But they need a transition plan for those that bought into the XBOX music/video, and we need a DAMN AMAZON app!
Well, that would be included in the deal. Microsoft transfers all those customers and accounts over to Amazon and Amazon gets their apps preinstalled on every Windows and Windows Phone device as the default media players. In return, Microsoft gets a small percentage of every purchase made within those apps.
I like that suggestion. I buy all my music from Amazon anyway. I've been using Amazon Music since its inception, which was before I used Windows Phone. I never bought anything from Zune (never owned a Zune) or Xbox Music (never owned an Xbox). Amazon was my choice since I didn't like iTunes, but I use Amazon for most of my shopping in general.
Sure. Not that Amazon would ever go for that, but it's a good idea.
Putting pressure on xbox team to deliver better service ???
I got that vibe too. Like he didn't say it's being chopped, but 'streamlined'.... sounds more like get your butt back to work or else. lol
Streamline at the very least sounds like cutting back, curtailing and not investing further resources into it. He is clearly referring to Xbox One and the idea of them being a media entity. His decisions are pushing back against that, focusing on gaming, not entertainment. I do not think he mans they're quitting video/music anytime soon, but rather it is taking a back seat. Considering they are far behind in that market, that is definitely not a good thing if you like using their services. Long term though it does call into question their commitment to Xbox Music and Video, after all, he didn't say "we're doubling down!" and going all in to take on the competition, he inferred the opposite.
This is disappointing. For the amount of money I've put into xbox music (two years worth), if they are cancelling their service, they better have a proper way to transfer over to another service or give some compensation. Also sitting here waiting while they tinker and pull and break and fix xbox music, which used to be excellent, to now being subpar, if bearable, seems like a waste of time now if they are just going to pull the plug on it.
Oh Daniel did he infer they are cutting back on their operating systems too? "We will streamline the next version of Windows from three operating systems into one single converged operating system for screens of all sizes," Nadella told press and analysts listening to the call. Good job writing this click bait article
Actually, yes he did...
....do you not know what streaminlne means in this context? Seriously, it takes all of a minute to look it up if you don't. It means eliminate generally by the close of the next fiscal year.
So what is the solution?
Solution is just to bring Zune back from the dead ones.
+1
Naw I'm not feeling this at all. I use it everyday and enjoy it. BS move if you ask me
NOOOOO! FS Microsoft.
They should just keep MixMusic
I can only laugh. Microsoft has been so focused on supporting competing platforms they forgot to develop their own and now are in a tough position? Who didnt see that coming (obviously apart from the geniues at Microsoft)?
You hit the nail on the head here.
Microsoft is always dropping things, its really no surprise
*Nadella is always dropping things...
No he was right, you can't just put it all on him...
Yeah, I am not liking Satya. Closing Xbox Entertainment Studios before even seeing if it was profitable and thus alienating consumers, employees, and advertisers was dumb. Not expanding Music and Video support is even stupider. This guy is myopic. Some non-profitable things are profitable in other ways.
I'm mixed on it. I too would have liked to have seen what they could have done, but clearly he is getting MS to focus on just their core services, and not spread themselves too thin. Jack of all trades, master of none kind of thing.
I feel like consumers are being pushed out of the Windows ecosystem entirely to focus solely on business customers. I don't think this is a strong strategy. Personally I would rather use either Apple or Google ecosystem which is 80% consumer, 20% business, than a MS ecosystem which is 90% business, 10% consumer focused. You can't give consumers this little effort and expect them to stay loyal to the Windows platform or MS services. I use OneDrive to house my Xbox Music and Video downloads. If they stop investing in music and video then why shouldn't I cancel my OneDrive subscription and go over to Apple and Google's storage solutions which will be better integrated with their always improving entertainment services? Also there is an element of trust permanently lost here. If they abandon their entertainment subscribers and consumers by phasing out support I would be hesitant to ever trust using any Microsoft services ever again. If you mistreat your customers and have this little respect for them I don't want to do business with you at all. Not handing my credit card over to their app store if this is the way they treated their music/video customers.
The fact is he sees his job as being to boost the present tense stock price and nothing more. The activist board contingent got their way and he is taking the company apart piece by piece so that the profitability today is boosted completely at the expense of any vision or long term potential success. It would be nice if Bill Gates would look up from his charitable efforts, which are very noble, and pay attention to what this crowd and their mouthpiece are doing to his legacy.
? It is actually google that drops services left and right. What has MS dropped?
You haven't been following lately have you?
Alright guys, forget about Xbox Music and go get yourselves some other players :3
Why don't YOU... Just....grrr, d'oh! >=[
Nad-zilla is at it again, when all he needs to do i have the xbox music team reinstate the zune software as xbox music.
He didnt' say he's getting rid of Music and Video all together... but it sounds like the 'music and video experience' will be 'streamlined' into something better separate from Xbox. Who knows, maybe he'll bring back the Zune team :D.
+925 i loved the Zune software setup, it was perfect imho
Heck yes. I still use it, and my first Gen Zune still works great
Just return back our music app of 8; then do what you like to.
Exactly...
you mean back when you couldn't modify playlists? no thanks..
Just with little bit of modification as per playlist you talk about; rest the music of 8 was so much better than this.
and go back to the infamous song duplicating over and over buig? no thanks, I'd rather use a less feature packed music player than a buggy one.
That bug was removed! If not then it worked better when have a soft reset. Simple. All was well then, I didn't see any problem further.
XBOX music going nowhere! Joe tweeted.
Bug exists even in 8.1 with the music hub. It's an issue with how WP updates music, if you don't delete music within the music hub, it doesn't delete the meta file (it uses the meta files to populate the list) then it duplicates when you add it back
Honestly. As a huge Microsoft supporter, I would be ok with this. I tried to use Xbox music even when it was working well, but I switched to Pandora and never looked back. Didn't care at all for the whole Xbox Entertainment nonsense either. At least not shows they produce or whatever, but rather they host.
Ever used Xbox Music on Windows 8? Waayyy better than Pandora, you get 10 free hours a month of streaming what ever you want, I just wish they would of added that feature on WP 8.1
Xbox Music is a joke compared to Spotify or any local player like Foobar / MusicBee.
The rumor mill has been spewing garbage like crazy all summer.
Unless it is making a dramatic loss shouldn't they be keeping these divisions in the hope that they turn good one day. The sooner they build these kind of services and libraries the easier. Look what happens when you join the game late with Windows Phone. The problem wasn't that it was inferior it was just really late. With Xbox Music, Video and Studio they were finally on the forefront.
This gives us what options on windows phone then (I don't use Spotify or similar services - some music I buy outright)? We don't have an app for Amazon music/video!!!! A little time, money and some brainpower towards Xbox Music/Video would go a long way...
Exactly this! Why would one get a windows phone? You have also no google music available. This would be a really bad move by MS. Just put a lil effort in it and it can be improved a lot.
Also what the fuck is Xbox one about then when all this is removed?? Then it's just a lesser gaming machine than the ps4. LOL
I didn't buy a Xbox One because of pure gaming. I bought one as an entertainment portal. I actually agree with their original vision and will be highly disappointed if they change positions after an expensive personal investment.
Same here. It's the reason I got the 360 (Netflix). Gaming was a bonus. Nadella seems to be reversing that, which I'm not sure is the wrong decision, as I think I'm in the minority.
Very few people are willing to pay a premium to use a gaming console as "entertainment" portal. Sony has taken the lead in this generation of hardware thanks to their focus on games. The majority of folks who just want Netflix will settle for a $100 box. And imo that has been Microsofts folly when it comes to music and video services. By all acounts, their services have been top notch. Heck, remember then the Music pass on Zune would let you stream as much as you wanted AND you could keep up to 10 songs a month DRM free? Why was that not successfull? Because the Zune hardware was just too expensive by the time it landed. The majority of music lovers werecompletely satisfied with their iPod/iTunes setup.
That's not true. Zune's were comparable to iPods as far as cost, if not they were cheaper. The problem was iPods had apps and games. Zunes were very limited.
The thing you're forgetting is that game console prices drop significantly over time. When it is $500 there are very few customers who would buy an Xbox for Netflix and entertainment services. When the Xbox One in $199 in a few years it is a different story. Many people would look at a $199 Xbox next to a $99 Apple TV and choose the Xbox because they get both all the entertainment services and a great game system. At this point few people are choosing between Apple/Roku and Xbox One, but that will change as the system matures and gets more affordable. It's fair to say they shouldn't have focused on the casual consumer at launch when the system is $500, but it is dumb to ignore these customers for the lifetime of the system when it does enter into their price range. Also I don't think Microsoft ever really shortchanged Xbox One consumers on games. There's all this talk that Sony stayed focused on games, but in truth Sony spent more time at E3 this year and last year talking about non-gaming applications of PS4 than any other company. Also PS4's lineup of exclusive games released so far is much weaker than the Xbox One. Xbox One has the much stronger game library right now. Microsoft came out at launch with a very strong exclusive game library for Xbox One despite all the BS claims they forgot about gamers.
Xbox one won't go for $200 until the xbox 2 is out (or whatever they will call it) What they need to do is make a competitor to AppleTV now, give it the entertainment features of xbox one and they have a pretty good chance at succeding.
Well, that's *definitely* not happening now. Nadella has shown that he doesn't want to be in that business.
Every customer counts, every paying subscriber is of equal value. When you start alienating people and making them feel unwelcome in your ecosystem you are doing something wrong. You were paying $60 for access to Netflix on Xbox, your $60 was not worth any less than any hardcore gamers. They should do everything to make you feel welcome, not like an outsider or an oddball in the Xbox community. They won't win anyone new over into the Xbox game community by letting casual game consumers feel this way.
Exactly why do you guys not keep your music natively on your device? Streaming? Expensive and reliant on data connection... Why?
Too much music, will fill up my 920. I'm on Wi-Fi at work where I listen to it, or at home I have Wi-Fi so I don't worry about a data connection too much, so why fill up space on my device when I can stream my collection (or part of) for free? Video is even worse of an issue.
I keep "My music" (Ripped from CD's I bought) on all my devices with one exception, and that is the Xbox One, seems I bought a really wonderful device (I really love it) that can't actually cope with the one thing that is in my opinion, the heart of any family entertainment system and that is local music, got to admit I am struggeling with this. Bob
I've been on Xbox Music 2-3 years and recently sold all my physical movies to move my collection digital via Xbox Video. I only own 6 movies on it right now, but the lack of commitment is making me very hesitant to continue to invest in these services. I love being able to have money in my Microsoft account and reference that for purchases on Xbox Video, Xbox One, Windows Phone, but that advantage is starting to disappear. The Windows Phone eco-system doesn't have access to Amazon Video. If Xbox Video goes away what options are there?
That's exactly my sentiments these kinds of moves only cause panic and deep distrust from their most loyal consumers and once you lose those your done!!
I agree 1520% with you. They really did a disservice to WP7 users by not allowing WP8 to run on the hardware. I was very disappointed to hear that my 1 year old Lumia 900 wouldnt run the latest and greatest version of the OS. I kept with it till I got my 1520 but I can only wonder how many people were turned off by this lack of support. The kind of did the same with the Kinect 2 which I think is a great periferal (sp?) but needs some tweaking. It really didnt help by cutting it out of the bundle for the Xbox One.
This EXACTLY!!
100% agreed.
+920
They'll have nothing to fall back on soon.
WHAT?! NOOOO! Xbox Music is an awesome service!! :c
Guys, he said,"Streamline". Since when does "Streamline" mean kill or get rid of? Geezz!
Yes, but "streamline" sounds an awful like cut back and that's never a good thing.
I completely disagree! All of you are making a big fuss about nothing. They are going to streamline their operating systems, but that doesn't mean they are going to kill them or cut them back. Same thing.....also those still complaining about the music app really need to get over it its not that bad any more and is actually better than the IOS music app.
I think you're confusing things. Look at the context of the quote. He's talking about cutting back and getting the company to refocus on gaming, not entertainment. Streamlining Xbox Music and Video means what, by your definition? He didn't say anything about expanding, investing further or making video/music a cornerstone of anything.
Streamline means to bring together into a more cohesive unit. "We will streamline the next version of Windows from three operating systems into one single converged operating system for screens of all sizes," Nadella told press and analysts listening to the call.
Yes, which means they are getting rid of operating systems. Most likely RT and WP in favor of Windows 9 which will probably run on all form factors. I have to say, if they do get rid of XBOX Music they will lose and piss off a lot of their loyal consumerbase, including myself.
@danielrubino Joe belifiore just tweeted its getting better exactly as I said.
The music app is not that bad anymore and is better than iOS? WTF are you takling about?! i'm not even going to get in to the iOS comparisons, but if you like lag, crashing, frozen next track buttons and lag when changing tracks in lockscreen, then I guess the music app is not that bad anymore. Do you even have a subscription?
No I dint have a pass. Most people don't use that feature and comparing the basic functions to the IOS app Xbox music is easily on par
Easily on par in functionality sure, but then you ignore the issues that the music app has that a lot of people are complaining about. One can argue that performing without issues is part of basic functionality
This does not happen on 8.1 with Cyan on the Lumia 930.
8.1 DP NL 920, I'm not saying that my case happens to every phone, but the sheer amount of outrcry over the app should show that it is not a decent app yet
I agree for Dev Prev but the 930 with 8.1 and Cyan, plus the bump in specs I suppose, is a better experience.
Curious, you're telling me the app is buttery smooth for you?! Also are you using the subscription? Just trying to pinpoint what the differences could be, I don't know if the firmware would have made the difference and although the 930 is undoubtably better than 920, the hardware on 920 is too good fo this sort of performance.
A better experience, not buttery smooth. I think further optimisation is required for that. I have just moved from 920 Dev Prev to 930 and going back after half a day with the 930, well, tearfully said goodbye to my much loved 920.
So are you using the subscription?, I was wondering if possibly some sort of DRM check with downloaded xbox music songs keeps causing the lag and the crashes
Yes, I subscribe to Xbox music pass and have tried both streaming and downloading music. Streaming is quick but then I have moved from a 3G service to 4G, which is faster, but this would only affect streaming for playing music.
Well that tells me that my experience won't improve until Cyan, which I doubt will come any time soon. Thanks for the feedback though!
Your welcome. I am really missing Cortana though. As she is reportedly coming to the UK very soon I am waiting for the official version.
Not necessarily, streamline usually equates to optimization. Optimization usually implies cutting things put, but not at the expense of the end goal or quality of service. Microsoft's problem across the board is over complication. I think he means, and hope I'm right, that they are just looking to reduce the footprint while improving the product at the same time. That's ultimately what streamlining is about.
A streamlined train isn't half the train a normal train is, its just optimized for performance.
He also talked about streamlining Windows, so are they going to cut it down too? I doubt it.
I use Xbox Music daily and pay MS $10 a month for the streaming subscription, dropping/reducing Xbox Music would really alienate loyal customers like me.
In big business streamline usually does mean it will be killed off. Just at a slower and or more quiet pace.
Its already not really moving at any real pace so...ya know.. This isn't good
Why does Nutella know such things? Anyways... I like mine on a slightly toasted bread with a bit of butter underneath!
Man, what's next on Microsoft's down hill spiral?
So where does that leave xbox music on wp if they actually shutting down? (I dont care much for the videos)
It won't actually shutdown, not anytime soon, just keep going until they have something else in place (either a competing service with a deal, or some other plan).
but if it's in streamline mode, the catalog will likely suffer and it has been lacking already
Would you please stop spewing assinine speculative BS as fact? You DO NOT KNOW what the time line or trajectory is so shut up and only present what is fact and/or preface any unspported garbage you think is the case with the disclaimer tthat it is just your opinion.
And that's your opinion, which I'd naive. In business speak "streamlining" does quite often mean closing down. So, until MS state Xbox music and video are not closing down, assume it will!
Very laggy those are..
Very laggy those are..
And I seriously just bought a 12 month subscription to Xbox Music Pass.. :P
I wouldn't worry about that, they're not going to close the division down, not this year or even next. But it does call into question their long term commitment.
That is an interesting statement Dan, has MS publicly stated this?
I've purchased dozens of movies and TV shows on Xbox video. If they were to close I pretty much have no reason to use Xbox or Windows Phone anymore. Not that Satya Nutella cares since I'm not an enterprise customer. If they shuttered Xbox music and video I'm done with this ecosystem and MS services, whatevers left of them after the Nutella massacre.
^ yes, this word verbatim.
I love Xbox music app , it's fast and it does everything what I want ,i mean seriously i am having no problem with it, but again the video app is totally ridiculous...
Worrying news. For me anyway. I use both these services often and was actually hoping Xbox Video would introduce a subscription model. My thoughts were always that Xbox Live, Xbox Music subscriptions should have been rolled in to one sub with a slight discount - say £12.99. Roll in a unified subscription that included Office 365 and you open up potential for people to stick with MS products. I for one would be very sad to see Xbox Music go. Xbox Video would be a softer blow on account of the available options such as Blink Box (same price for more or less the same content).
They obviously don't get it, Zune ap was amazing, plus it's social could had been advertised more, now add what they have with mix and throw in the components of xbox music/video and you have a whole new music experience.
Good lord they are so narrow minded. It's the reason why they keep failing!!!
They also need to streamline the monthly fee for their music streaming. And by streamline I mean CHOP IT!!!!
If MSFT gets rid of the Xbox music I'll really have no reason to stay with the OS. I'll be switching back to iOS.
Unfortunatley I hold the same sentiments. What Apple is doing now is what I saw MS heading towards 2 years ago when I made the "complete" switch. I was apparently too optimistic about the development and now Apple beat them to the punch.
All of these notions of killing of MSFT services really will kill momentum in WP sales... Why would anyone but into a platform if the company who created it doesn't support it with great services?? I think this is the opposite of what they need to do.
What happened to MS is a devices and services company??
I'm going to be so mad if they take down Xbox Music! And the worst part is that they even spin off MixRadio!
One could read that they are reviving XBL on WP out of this
Xbox Music is my favorite part of my Xbox One outside of gaming. If it goes where do I go for music on Xbox and Windows Phone? There just aren't any great options.
I probably wouldn't go as far as going to android full time, but I, as well as others are highly invested in Microsoft products. From windows phone to windows 8.1 to Xbox one/360.
Xbox music and their all you can eat subscription method is one strong reason why I love my windows phone. I can download as much as I want and when I get tired of some music, I just delete it. Too much time and hassle to keep track of a large music library anymore.
The video side I am not so invested in. I have only bought one show, so no big loss. Amazon or others would take its place easily.
Wow. Kill all direct consumer goods... Terrible news. Xbox better stay Xbox. Either spin them all off or keep them together.
It would not disappoint me to see Xbox Video disappear. A strategic alliance with another video provider would probably workout better. Or even, allowing Xbox Video to be the front end while the backend is handled by another provider (like Amazon for example). However, I think the Xbox Music service needs to stay. With Apple recently aquiring Beats and Google's already established Play Music, Microsoft needs some sort of competitive service that they have absolute control over. Heck, just look at the forums, users are way more upset about Xbox Music than Xbox Video. A user's music collection is one thing they definitely don't like having jerked around.
Indeed, cutting video would make more sense. And then just have first class 3rd party services on XBox for video.
Ms is always making strange moves.
Well this all but guarantees that I jump ship for Android this fall. Good day WP, hope you all the best. At least now I can look forward to high quality MS apps on Android because we all know they weren't there for WP...
No service, no app.
I think they should either rename the service that has nothing to do with Microsoft like Spotify or Pandora and them expand more to other platforms orrr just get rid of them and partner with other services like Spotify and pandora
So what music apps are out there that are quality and work like Xbox music?
I subscribe to Xbox Music, MixRadio and I am using a trial subscription of Beats. I have used also Spotify and Pandora. Xbox Music works great on my 1520 and is definitely my favorite service. The entire reason I even went with Windows Phone was because of Zune and I will be extremely disappointed if the service ends-- there goes all my playlists! From the services I have tried, Spotify would be my second choice but last time I used the Windows Phone app, which was a while back, it was buggy.
This would be the smart move honestly. Concentrate on what MS will make money in because they need to find where they are headed IMO
They can't have expenses that aren't really helping them in the long run. And no, I don't think these features would help them in the long run because obviously not a lot of people are using them. Which makes it not worth it in the end.
If they cut everything that doesn't make money, they're gonna fade away from consumer space. None of the consumer related items make money for MS except Windows which will soon be free for most new devices. They're gonna become IBM that the consumers have long since forgotten. They should fight for mindshare, improve the service way beyond rivals and market it aggressively. Not eliminating everything that doesn't bloom money in some years.
I think the problem with this train of thought is, it is great for the short term and financials, but effectively puts them in no position for future growth. Eliminating investments like these only makes becoming a cloud and services company that much harder when they keep eliminating services.
If they did this and cut the xbox I would start transitioning to apple....
WTF are we supposed to do?!?! Besides Windows desktop, NO ONE (music/video) supports windows devices across all screens. There are no alternative music services on XBOX and when it comes to video, Amazon's app is a half-ass attempt at a video service. I'm really confused by this and I wish they would be more clear about what their plans are. If they are shutting down those services, I hope they at least form some strategic partnerships to help make sure Spotify/RDIO and AmazonVideo/Kindle are first class experiences on all MS screens.
Wow wtf
Guys, it doesn't say he's killing off Xbox Music and Video. It sounds more like he's putting pressure on the team, and working to 'streamline' the music and video experience into the ecosystem better. It might be separate from Xbox though, similiar to how Zune was. They obviosuly can't get read of music and video all together because without it native to their devices, no one would buy it. He's talking more about the music/video buying service itself. And the 'streamlining' of the music/video app experience into the ecosystem.
Here's an idea - how about FIXING Xbox Music instead of getting rid of it??? -_-
Or letting us set the default music player..? :D
give him this responsibility .very big mistake :-(
they should find someone more fresh and creative
Dropping the service would be the dumbest thing they've done in years. Maybe they will separate it from Xbox and rebrand it (Zune?).
Xbox One= one device for gaming, music, video and whatever more.
Removing music and video would make the Xbox One a ridiculous device; a lesser gaming machine than the ps4. Rofl.
I am not believing this shit!
Agreed! That's why I bought the Xbox. Could have stick with my PS 3 otherwise.
Bunch of shit. They never should have shut down Zune to begin with! They need to streamline it back into Zune!
What Nadella isn't realizing is that Xbox Music and Video spawned from Zune. Zune had nothing to do with Xbox before they decided to merge the services under one brand name. If the end result was just to throw in the towel on both of them, what was the point of dropping Zune in the first place?
I don't really care for Xbox Video. But Xbox Music has so much potential. Bring back Zune Desktop and make it compatible with WP8. Make Xbox Music like the music player found on the Zune HD and make it Native so we don't have to wait 3 seconds for it to load up.
Not really happy with the direction Nadell's taking Microsoft. Xbox pigeon holed into gaming again, Xbox Music, which has the largest music library btw, on the chopping block. I'm trying to buy into your damn ecosystem Microsoft, stop making me go to other companies for the same services you were going to offer, especially when those services don't have decent apps on your platform. Also, WPCentral, can you make editing a comment not a pain in the ass in your app. I can't even scroll up to fix my typo.
I agree with you twelvetudors.
I functionally agree thag the earlier version of music was nice compare to Xbox.
And yes, there's heavy compitition against Xbox streaming and music, video business.
Focuing in the core products and enhancing it is the right kind of work which will in future will lead Microsoft ro be successful.
To be very honest, I'd be thrilled if the whole online music streaming stuff would be scrapped and they would focus on what made Zune great: a fast, reliable and feature-rich music player that I can use to manage and play my (legally bought!) music that I ripped from CD's with. But I guess that's too much to hope for.
This would really stink because I use Xbox Music (going on 3yrs now) every single day, along with MixRadio and now they may no longer support it. Real shame I use it across all my devices and my wife uses it on her iPhone. Guess I'll have to go with an iPhone 6 + Beats Audio Service if this happens :P
I'd say from the tone and context 'streamilne' sounded more like focus and improve rather than kill.. Or am I being too optimistic??
Anyone knows Nadella's email address?
I could never experience those services because they are not available in my country. iTunes is in Paraguay, so I don't get why it is so difficult to make Xbox services available in here.
And that is another cause of the immense piracy of media content here. :/
Good. Drop that useless stuff and bring us Windows Media Player 13 already. Also bring back WMP to WP. Windows Mobile had WMP I'd like to see it on WP too.
Keep the apps kill the streams
So it's confirmed. Nadella is just a stockholder whore that bends over when they ask him to.
I think that there might be too much reading into this. Could he not have just been referencing the fact that they now have Xbox Music and MixRadio and that to streamline their Music offering they will be spinning off MixRadio?
My thoughts exactly, doesn't really come across like ditching music and videos IMHO
Agree, I think there's a lot of overreaction, but you never know with MS since Balmer.
Xbox Music + Videos, along with Games app was perfect On WP8. I wasn't happy with the 8.1 update.
I'm not sure about that decision. Are you sure Nadella? Google, Apple, Amazon has their own Music/Video services and they aren't available in WP store. All other small ventures are getting gobbled up by the likes of these big companies. What then? Leave Xbox eco system out of Music/Video services and that will make Xbox complete NOT. Although we bitch and moan that Xbox Music/Video apps suck and they do, but its there and they can improve on it but without it Windows will loose its edge.
They both well, suck. Sorry to say I will not miss either. :P
What is wrong with Xbox Video? They stream 1080p, Dolby 5.1 videos. The quality is very good. You can access the content on Windows 8, Windows Phone, Xbox 360/One, and the website. They also frequently have big sales now where major movies are available to purchse under $10 in 1080p. Especially if you get Xbox point cards on sale that is a great deal.
Xbox Video is actually solid, however I'd much rather just rent a movie from Redbox or watch via Netflix. :-)
I get all of my digital content via Xbox Video for my X1, Asus G750, Lumia 1520 & my Surface Pro 3 -- if they drop the video, it takes away one thing that I use that connects all of my main platforms; especially when i am out on the road. If they seriously drop it, I'd move to a PS4 and Android format very quickly.
Finally kill Xbox music and bring back zune
You wish, killing Xbox music means killing all music services from Microsoft!
Does make you wonder about the people who invested in music pass, presumably rebates will be made.
This is wrong. It is a core services it is on phones, tables, PCs, and on Bing.
It is not rational to focus on productivity and ignoring entertainment side. Consumers want the whole experience from first party.
He is starting to make mistakes.
"instead of improving the service, why don't we just shut it down??.
Exactly. A company with tens of BILLIONS of dollars in CASH reserves can afford to make this work. They're just not seeing it the same way as their customers which is a very costly mistake...
I hate nadella bald man , he is the devil of the story Posted via Windows Phone Central App
Being bald had nothing to do with it. Don't mock people for things they cannot control (baldness); mock them for things they can control (bad decisions).
I've been a Pass customer since the Zune30. It would be a nightmare to rebuild a subscription library from scratch. I guess that's the danger of relying on a subscription service, especially with a company known to toss things in the "kin".
Perhaps all this means is by actually allowing Metro apps to run on the xbox one we don't need an xbox specific music hub. Therefore eliminate the xbox music and video hub in the xbox one and move the non gaming apps onto the Windows OS side.
Eh, maybe? That seems awful niche and not worthy of a mention on a call.
"Better yet, what is the argument for Xbox Music and Video in terms of actual advantages to end-users (versus competing products)?"
I'm an XBox Music subscriber since I got WP7 two years ago. I've tried the competitors on Windows Phone, and even with the latest flubs regarding the Xbox Music app, they are inferior due to less investment by the app makers and better integration by Xbox Music. Small but notable things like pausing, playing, BT connectivity etc run smoother on the MS-provided Xbox Music client. Of course, WP is such a small piece of the market, and those of us who subscribe to Xbox Music is an even smaller share of that small piece. If MS opens up their APIs for streaming like they said they would do and provides resources and incentives to third party develpers, it makes sense to get rid of their own Music and Video apps. But I haven't noticed much interest from Spotify or the others to do much with Windows Phone, so I think it'd be a real loss for those of us who currently use the WP service. Death by a thousand cuts...
I would like to say he's a jackass. I'm purchasing an surface pro 3 laptop just upgraded to Xbox one and have a windows Lumia 920 which I will upgrade. I will be so disappointed because I really believe in the windows ecosystem and to have a third party manage my music file is a big mistake. I'm starting to think I should have stayed with apple and this ecosystem thing is just a gimmick. Your more concerned with your earnings than your products Microsoft needs to give Xbox music more time to mature. For me a lot of the music I try to tag cant find have to go on YouTube. Very stupid move I hope your listening.
I actually have been using xbox music since zune cause I loved the zune subscription service cause all the music I wanted was always there and I do enjoy how it syncs all my playlists to all my devices quickly and easily. I tried pandora and it never worked for me. Spotify was alright, but I think I must be one of the few that liked xbox music.
I like it best too. I've tried all of the subscription services, and I like Xbox Music the best because it integrates so well with my phone. If I wasn't a Windows Phone user I would "think differently", probably... but I am. I guess it's the WP users they feel like they can afford pissing off.
All they had to do is not give up on Zune. I want to believe that they can bring Xbox Music back to the level of Zune, but it's been so slow going that it still seems like a long way down the road. But, giving up is never the answer. Seriously, you need a good music platform - it just won't be the same without. Don't take the easy way out - I for one am still looking for that perfect music service, and Zune features/design + a better Xbox Music with the cloud features would really be awesome.
Bring back Zune please. Great service, pretty and useful apps, fantastic devices (Zune HD) and overall awesome brand.
I've had Xbox Music since it was first called the Zune pass. I don't like how the app regressed, but I'm grandfathered in at $14.99 with the 10 free downloads per month. While I have months that I don't use those 10 free downloads, I am still happy with it.
Well, that's stupid. Am I the only on feeling like this guy is messing everything up?
No. He seems to make a lot of "new CEO has to show decisiveness!" decisions, just to shake things up. But we'll see, I guess...
He's getting rid of everything that was built to focus on one thing... I mean, they've just bought Nokia and now their focus isn't mobile anymore? Okay, then. I think that a company like Microsoft should focus on everything they can to grow. Look at Google. They focus on everything and they're huge. I just wished Microsoft would get to that point. But now we'll have to wait even more. :P
I never thought someone could make me miss Steve Ballmer so much. Seriously I never liked Steve Ballmer's style, but at least the decisions he made always made sense to me. I understood what Steve Ballmer was trying to accomplish and he never made me feel like I was unwelcome or unneeded in the Microsoft ecosystem. People like Satya Nadella and Phil Spencer make me feel like I'm a second fiddle customer and they couldn't care less what platforms or services I use. They are so focused on a single type of customer that they are alienating everyone who doesn't fit completely into that specific mold. Even if they don't go through with these rumored cutbacks of Xbox and MS retail stores, the cold shoulder we are getting from the new management is turning me off of all MS products for the first time in my life.
Microsoft is going into its shell. Focusing only on their strengths, ( console and windows) leaving the rest out.
The reason I use the console and windows is for entertainment and they are cutting back the entertainment. The logical result of that is I stop using the console and windows. The fact that MS can't figure out how to walk talk and chew gum is not my problem. I'm not going to be stuck in place because all they can handle is to talk. I'll move over to some other ecosystem that has more to offer and say goodbye to Microsoft software.
Office, music, and Xbox games were a driving force behind my decision to get a WP 7 device after WM 6.5. The subscription for music has been great for me. Office could be updated and games needs to be a forethought again. Going to suck if they drop music.
Oh, come on The xbox services are great in the position they are nos. They need MUCH more improvements, because even the music download situation sucked. But they have potential. Just put a damn team making playlists to random situations like Spotify, integrate the damn MixRadio on the services to make better the poor Smart DJ on the Xbox Music, and put more effort on the damn apps for WP, iOS and Android, not to mention the Windows Desktop and Mac, which are mostly left to a Web service. They are strictly integrated with WP, and this is a game changing point if they focus on that. Or, of course, they could make a partnership with Spotify and takeover the app development like they did with Facebook.
If only Microsoft had left the Zune software alone and simply rebranded to Xbox. The Zune software rocked.
Used to be able to play all my music in a cloud collection with xbm. That's gone, and if it does play a song....its something I downloaded once but don't have anymore. For instance, Zune had a free Christmas I downloaded to burn to a disc for someone. Deleted it, still have the license though. They should bring Zune back and actually market it against iPood. Yes, you read that last bit right.
Wow, this is just one disaster after the next for the music service. They keep failing because of permanently changing it with no consistent objective. Zune was a music centric service. XBMusic is now a cloud centric service that happens to play music (badly in many cases), and now they might pull that!? Madness.
No Surprises. I knew that this would happen.. Now waiting for the death of Cortana.
That will never happen. Not unless Microsoft decides to give up on the consumer space altogether and turn into IBM and just sell Windows, Office and software/hardware solutions to businesses.
Microsoft no! You champs can't give,,we stand for you..just blow it again,,
How did they manage to so completely destroy a once great thing (Zune)? They need an answer to iTunes and Google Music. Xbox Music could have been that answer if it wasn't mismanaged to death. It could still be salvaged if they try. Include the whole Xbox Music management team in your layoffs and give it to another team that might care enough to make something good out of it!
Personally I would not be that unhappy if iTunes came to Windows Store at this point.....
What they should is the app and its design,not the services.
It's funny cuz my cousin bought a PS4 for gaming and an Xbox One for the entertainment and now they are killing that side off... Lol silly kids your gonna lose an entire market because you don't understand your own strengths. I will forever be loyal to playstation, it was my first gaming console and will be my truest so others like me are not going to change just because of a focus on it! Just focus on your strengths Microsoft!
+920
I think XBOX services it's like visit card of the Microsoft. Services ain't work in many countries (in Ukraine). It will be awesome if services will work in whole world.
And it will be sad if it's close... their own XBOX services, their visit card.
So you design and produce xb1 as a multi faceted home entertainment solution and make it less powerful than ps4 as a standalone gaming machine then decide you are only focused on gaming and that is supposed to make sense to your customers in what reality???...Not to mention scrapping Zune which was a great foundation for a mobile music app.
What is the point of my handheld device without music or video? I can use a ten dollars phone and achieve the same crap. And for those of us that use our tablets and PC's casually (mainly for music, video, games, etc)...how does this help sell us on your Windows based PC's and tablets. I know we also say we are ready to jump to Apple, but right now, that would be where many of us will have to go if music and video is a big chunk of our mobile and PC usage. This guy is a complete idiot.
Chopping down the ecosystem and services kill off a lot of reasons to have a WP. I solely bought into WP for its ecosystem. Mind you I think MS really needs to work on its pricing scales and realizing they wont just sell because of the Microsoft name
My suspicion is that Nadella plans to shut down their smartphone line. Smartphones, without associated services and a thriving ecosystem is pointless. Just ask the former Nokia folks and their experience selling Symbian phones.
Crap, Spotify and Pandora suck so bad.
Meh
Terrible move imo. Microsoft wants people to use their services, this is the wrong way to go about it. What they should do is invest more resources into these services.
I don't like this one bit. :( The apps are fair (but improving!) and I still appreciate being able to listen to all my music accross all of my devices (surface pro 3, desktop, xbox one, lumia 1020, iphone. It's simple and I think it very much feeds into the "completeness" of their ecosystem. I guess if they do decided to cut it they will be handing out refunds. I have a subscription until the end of 2018. =\ If streamline means a new focus on just video and music and the selling of mixradio to a third party, I'm okay with that. But don't abandon xbox music!
Also MS is horrible for its roll outs... So many countries have to always wait. Canada still doesn't have Cortana
This is a major selling point for the ecosystem as I use it.
I'm not a fan of this. Apple and Google both have this music and video hub along with books. They're revenue makers...why drop it? Just improve and fix it. :)
Satya Nadella Needs to get a grip. He's going a little too far. I hope this article is wrong on Xbox Music and Xbox Video. The problems is not the services, the problem is Microsoft Marketing. Look at the commercials Microsoft has. The Surface pro 3. Quick commercial, not informative, not compelling. The Xbox One commercials are good, the Windows phone commercials talk about the camera, but not the phone and what makes the phone different than any other phone. Here is the major issue. Those who purchased a tablet, uses the Xbox Music and video, I use it on my phone and Xbox. Microsoft needs to stop throwing in the towel and work on making them better and selling it as the choice for music and video. Just like Amazon does, Apple and Google. Microsoft need to improve on what's there and sell it. I never seen any ad about Xbox Music, video or even Smartglass that explains to the consumer how well the services work the ecosystem. Microsoft needs to work on Marketing. How about over hauling that department.
Amen!
Damn, I love Xbox Music =/
"Get something out of nothing and your clicks for free."
Cool wallpaper is anybody having this wallpaper(sorry for being of topic)!
If Microsoft decides to kill off these services (which I dont think they will) then that is a clear indication that the Xbox divisin will be spun off. By slowly taking everything entertainmernt out of it, it will be a self sustainable business by just concetnrating on games. But it wont happen, as these services are part of the overall Windows ecperience and with Windows threshold merging allof the OS's it woululdnt make sense. But if they kill these servies then a spin off is innevitable
Ok, this is too much. For me the video and music services are integral to the whole streamlined experience in the ecosystem. If they cut it, they will force me to a more comprehensive ecosystem... And there I can only see Apple. And that would piss me off big time. Why make windows and xbox a dumb single purpose appliance again?! Nadella, u r making money, stop being stupid and greedy ass. Seriously
Nadella really needs to stop talking in riddles and double talk. More concrete plans and concrete direction would avoid confusion and worry like this. He is being very obtuse about even defining what mobile-first means. Does it include making mobile hardware for consumers? Does mobile first mean iOS and Android first, Windows later? In his memo he did say they wanted Microsoft software to be at the center of both personal and business life. They even made a nice little circular graphic to depict being equal parts business and personal. Well if they don't have a music or video service then they're not going to be very useful in my personal life. I use OneDrive primarily because of Xbox Music downloads. Cancel my Xbox subscription and I cancel my OneDrive subscription.
Streamlining... 1. To construct or design in a form that offers the least resistance to fluid flow. 2. To improve the appearance or efficiency of; modernize. 3. a. To organize. b. To simplify.
Why can't we have one hub that shows all videos on phone no matter what program used to download it
Business talk is not so clearly defined unfortunately. Unless he categorically states Xbox music and video is staying forever, read its closing down.
I seriously have no problem with Xbox Music, and I dont get all of the criticism. I buy subscription cards on eBay for about 60% off retail.
I don't know why Ms is doing such a shutdown at this time.. But if this is going to prevail also in other sectors Ms is either going to ditch itself or be in top.. But if its going to affect the WP in any means we users of Lumia are only to suffer .. Ms said that WP will get the windows 9 for all WP 8.1 users I don't know what is going to happen.. If this occurs users sure will hate and kill Ms
What is he doing? I'm seriously thinking about going back to Android... Less hassles
It sounds like Nadella's strategy is to prune away anything that's not profitable until you're left with a stable core.While it's a safe practice, it'll result in a lot of unhappy users. Once he's 'streamlined' everything he can off the Xbox until it's nothing but a gaming box (in other words, the exact opposite of the reason I bought it), he'll likely turn his gaze to WP. The Bing Apps & Services, HealthVault, etc... feel that shadow falling on you?
Bad call, if its true. The shows I get, but still think was a bad call. But you have to have a native music and video experience. You can't rely on competitors products.
with everyone jumping to all types of conclusion, they should clarify what that means asap.
What I miss in this world most is the Zune. Why?? Why Microsoft ?? Why did you kill it.. Bring back Zune on windows phone store as a separate app. Only a music player "the best music player" I don't care about Xbox music.
I love my Xbox Music Pass and I love how I feel I can download any song or album and play it offline or mix it with online content to match my mood - without ads.
If MS discontinued or phased out their Music Pass I would be heartbroken and feel betrayed. Sure there are other services, but if Music Pass goes that means many other MS projects/services could follow.
$100 /yr for unlimited music isn't cheap, but it's nothing compared to purchasing music!
Both apps should be merged again to create windows media player on mobile with a similar look and features and syncing with the desktop counterpart. For the music and videos services they could of course spin it off with mixradio and still keep it bundled
That sound reasonable. And sounds streamlined.
Just make it Zune. They have the code. Just fucking do it.
I wish Spotify would step up and create an xbox one app. Support the cause. http://community.spotify.com/t5/Spotify-Ideas/Spotify-for-Games-Consoles...
This is not good. I am not looking this at all. If this inform I will be dumping Windows and Xbox. I purchased anXB1 for the entertainment aspect of the device and services. It might time to move on.
I don't even like or use the service but this seems like a poor idea
I'm a professional songwriter and music is very important to me too! I've been a loyal user since wp7, loved Zune too, but damn, can we just get one good music player/service?
Nadella should be fired.
Get rid of him before he guys this thing until they are back in the stone age.
Nadella is getting a lot of things "right," but is wrong to not introduce new products, eg Surface Mini because of lack of market distinction, there is a gap - it NEEDS to be filled in your ecosystem. Otherwise it will be filled by Android, iOS and others.
This is just like Xbox Music and to some extent Video, where you leave a hole in a dike the hole only gets larger and destroys the dike/dam.
Fill the hole and the dike stays strong.
Only reason I got a years subscription is because I can use it on my phone.
Buy Pandora, merge the music buying aspect of Xbox Music into it and let Pandora continue to run as it's own subsidiary. Xbox Video on the other hand...
Xbox music and video should have always been part of a live subscription, in that way they would have bolstered there live subscriptions and had a chance of developing the relevant apps in a timely and appropriate fasion, if Ms do leave the space I sincerely hope we are left with a working music player
Good job MS, you just made me decide not to buy any movies on Xbox video, spend $80 this week on movies, if you get rid of these services I will be gone in a HEARTBEAT. this is so STUPID!!!!!!!!!!! you are building a ecosystem it takes time, dont start cutting shit that is needed! What will happen to my movies?????? What about all the music I have downloaded on Xbox music with the subscription? Just gone poof? Make the Xbox music locker and I guarantee the service will be 1000x better. This CEO is a joke, hoe do stupid people make it too these positions. If you do this MS I will be iOS, PS4 in a second. FUCK
If they cancel those services, I'll use the money I spend on movies and music to dig up my grave
This is not good news.
Or maybe we're all just jumping to conclusins? streamline: make something more efficient: to make something such as a business, organization, or manufacturing process more efficient, especially by simplifying or modernizing it. More efficient, simple, and modern versions of Xbox Music and Video sound like a good thing, no? Then again, streamline can also mean: "let's prematurely kill it like we prematurely killed Xbox Entertainment Studios!"
And you nailed the problem, no explanation, no clarity. As lots are loosing their jobs and services and devices being cancelled, what are we to assume?
I love both music and video, hope they stay
Nothing like iTunes, ones just pay for the song/track and away it download to the device, it that simple, whereas Xbox music it just too complicated and confusing.
im not supported so it doesn't bother me
Given the number of free or subscription services out there is it really a surprise? Not exactly OS stuff..
I love Microsoft and am so pissed off with every Major Impulsive decision being made. Damn. He is acting much too quick, throwing out one thing after another.. It wouldn't bother me if it didn't occur Right after he said he needed to figure things out. The man seems to be acting very impulsively, in my opinion.
I'm glad Microsoft is "embracing" productivity and its strong points, but just because there's competition in other areas doesn't mean you should take it all away from your loyal customers! You don't have to be the best at everything, Microsoft! There is room for others; diversity and a wide range of services is how you attract more consumers, not the opposite. "Gamers are people too." Did you forget about everyone else??
/end rant
They do have lots of sales on Xbox Video though so I end up buying top tier HD movies for under $10. I agree rental prices are high, but I've bought a ton of movies on Xbox Video due to all of the sales.
Ref 4Tiles,
Where do you see the sales?
I've had my Zune/Xbox Music pass for years now and there is no turning back..It's nice to download whatever I want without buying every album I want to listen to. Nokia Mix Radio is not a substitute b/c you can't choose what to listen to just a genre or artists. This would be a major blow to windows users that can't stand iTunes. And I agree they need to include music on Xbox for free to gold subscribers but I can understand paying to download on phones and PC. Don't take away my music Microsoft. DON'T YOU DARE!!!!
Ever since Zune went bye bye its been a decline. Too bad.
No no no...... That's the main reason why I go with WP and MS 1 acc for everything
In this rhythm Daniel Rubino will be out of job :)) He'll have nothing to review, praise or describe for us, service by service, app by app, phone by phone is being subject to cancelation.
I think Microsoft just made my decision on whether to double down on Windows Phone when my contract is up in November. Over the last 6 months, they have proven that they have no idea what they're doing with Xbox Music - which was a huge draw for me to the platform in the first place. The app is basically unusable. I've started making mix CDs again for my vehicle!
At least just get an iPod Classic. They're cheap now, contain a 160 gb hard drive and iTunes is still a great method to subscribe to podcasts, which you can store on said Classic.
I don't know whether I want to continue with Windows phone, if the only way I can have music on my phone is through Spotify or something like that.
I have two supscriptions, one since before Windows Phone 8 came about and another when I got my Lumia 920. Music is one of the most important aspects of my "digital life". I love how it was integrated with WP7 and WP8. Nothing beats the wow factor of bring up search, listening to the song (on radio etc) and then downloading to your phone. Or streaming from the net etc.
Xbox Musis pass is my #1 source for music. I hope they don't kill it.
I actually down graded from WP8.1 to WP8.0 just because I could not stand the music experience. This sucks.
Is there another music service that costs less than $100 per year, is unlimited, has a vast collection, works on phones and tablets/PCs, allows any track to be made available offline on any device, and is available in Canada? Maybe Google Play Music? If Nadella cuts every part of his consumer eco-system that isn't a huge success he won't have an eco-system left. His streamlining will impress shareholders in the short term and no one else. His customers will start giving up on him even faster than he can give up on competing with Apple and Google.
They cant even lower the price of the streaming..
Maybe they are talking about Xbox Music and Video "service", maybe Xbox Music and Video "apps" remains.
The service is the best part........ I mean, who doesn't love the Xbox Music Pass?
Get it, but I just use XBM on my phone/windows for local music.
For streaming across devices, I'm testing Spotify service here.
I mean, who doesn't love the Xbox Music Pass? Most people.
Finally a properly working music app where they don't always have to do the best for the Xbox music cloud people but make the offline experience a dream ...
I'm gonna drop windows phone for real if all these cuts come to fruition. I'm not gonna stick around like a typical fanboy trying to live around and justify why they use the os.
Nadella is making me slowly give up on Microsoft. My next phone might not be a Lumia 1520 anymore, instead it might be an iPhone. CURSE YOU, NADELLA!
I hear ya. :/
While I don't think Nadella means Xbox Music and Video will be shut down, such a decision would not be good for consumers so neither for Microsoft. These services tie users to the ecosystem, and Google and Apple have their own equivalents. What I really enjoy about Xbox Music is the 10 hours of free streaming per month and its website is accessible from any device.
Getting rid of 2 core services across all 3 platforms... I don't see it.
Xbox music is not even available in India. Its just a normal music player for our phones. MS has to do something abt it
Same problem here, xbox music service not available in every country/region
Just give us a decent media player on our devices,so we can consume our own content. It's too damn expensive & folks don't want to pay for another streaming service when they are already paying for Netflix.
É exatamente isso.
The only reason I grabbed a Windows Phone 7 back in the day was because I have been a Zune subscriber since 2006. Loosing the ability to download an infinite amount of music for just $15/month would make me seriously consider another mobile ecosystem. I like Windows Phone, especially the design language of the OS, but I came here for Zune functionality, and I'll be much more open to Android and iOS in the future without Xbox Music.
Microsoft, understand: Xbox music + video + live = Only 1 subscription. If you do it, we'll buy the service.
XBM was the sole reason I chose WP over android. Kill that and it will make my decision to go android easier as I get Spotify subscription
This guy is killing everything in MS.First Mclaren,no flagships,Mix Radio Sellout,Now no XBOX Music.Might as well just scrap Bing too and become a enterprise company with the only consumer product being desktop Windows.As sad as it seems I am going to keep my 920 in a box just to admire Nokia hardware 10 years down the line and just to for Sony/Android.Google is actually expaning into TVs,Autos,Android smartwatch not to mention all their services work top notch outside the US.Play Music also is much better than Mix Radio.Also I can get Playstation certified acheivements on Xperia.MS Is busy destroying everything they built whereas Android just keeps expanding.Thats it I am jumping ship. PS-MS good luck with Nadella and Elop at the helm.These guys are gonna make MS self destruct
I feel really uncomfortable with the vague terminology that was used in his statement. I depend on Xbox Music and Video for a good chunk of my entertainment (with the other part being Netflix), which is part of the reason why I couldn't get into iTunes, Pandora, or any other music service and became such a die-hard Windows Phone fan in the first place. If "streamline" ultimately means "get rid of," then I'm out. I'm not going to make any decisions until we hear a firm, incontestable statement from him. I understand that he's probably doing all of this to please the shareholder and enterprise clients, but the last time MS did that, we got XP and Vista.
The same here man... Actually every single song or album I've purchased have been from Zune and Xbox music... I love this company, but I'm feeling as though I've placed my faith in the wrong place....
As a massive WP and Surface fan I'm now feeling the same :'(
Man do they want me to give my phone back too? Lol!
Xbox music and xbox video is a fail i think, cause not all country or region can use that service for streaming music and buy some videos, like my region, thats service is impossible, i think, microsoft should bring back zune or music+video app, music streaming? They have MixRadio, isnt that part of them, right?
I totally agree with you. Not everyone of us has access to the music and video store and we certainly don't wanna wait for Xbox to sign us in every single time I wanna access my own music/videos. If I'm a vegan, of course I'm not the one to wait for the butcher's shop to open.
Are you freaking kidding me? At this rate I'm going to have to go to a dumb phone. No way I am using anything Google and I don't like iPhones. Nutella is focused on killing everything that made the ecosystem great.
Xbox Music has been acting up on my laptop and Surface Pro. And WP8.1 still hasn't *officially* been released. I'm hanging up my boots. I'm letting my Xbox Music Pass subscription expire when it does. I'll keep using Windows PCs. But when it comes to phones, I don't know which one to go to.
The Xbox One that seemd to be poised to take over the living room will be killed as a media device by Nutella. I love the extra focus in gaming but I don't want to sacrifice the other aspects of the console.
Kill Xbox music and video doesn't make sense. At Xbox Console, tablet, notebook and windows phone, we use the apps XBM and XBV, so kill the service will kill some reasons why we choose MS ecosystem.
Rebuilding is better. There's something from the source code which is troubling the new coded features to ve added. Smoothness is first. Yes for sure the app needs to be rebuild.
The service of XBM Pass is too expensive. Make only one subscription pass, and we will buy it.
At a 100 dollars a year, it's cheaper than any other alternative.
I seriously miss the old music-videos hub. Xbox Music and Videos are just poorly executed. The app is slow to load I don't want to wait for Xbox to sign me in every time I just wanna unwind with my personal media collection.
Zune pass was the one reason I didn't switch to Apple products when I went to college. I needed my music. Xbox music is half the service we had back then and now they want to cancel the whole project. Here's an idea, make a better product. Don't give up on it. Give people a reason to leave Amazon or Google Play to come to xbox.
They could always buy Deezer though. The service is currently present in 200 countries and is second only to Spotify. If they power their own service through it, it will make a wonderful impact on their worldwide users. Deezer app on WP in itself very similar to the design philosophy of XBox Music. But again, I know Microsoft won't spend a dime.
If this is true I am jumping ship. We would have no music alternative to stream full albums. We have no Amazon Music App, and no Google Music App to replace this service. I have never owned an Android or Apple device but its lookng more and more like 2015 will be time to finally give up on Windows Phone.
Chill bro obviously they will come up with something or someone in collaboration making apps for them. A music player wont let windows phone die. Emerging markets don't think about streaming music live. All they want is a good player. We need a good music player. Xbox music maintenance cost is also high. But for now we need a decent music player for the growth of windows phone. They have to compromise with Xbox music though its close to our hearts.
You comment does not sit well with the majority of comments here, which seem to disagree.
if you look at his name "Aashish13" means he is in Indian, where Xbox music subscription isn't available, thus thinking the his country is like the rest of the world (which is false). Dude, aashishsh what you don't get is the fact that people use and depend on music subscription, video subscription, Netflix, hulu, etc, you name it, everything that is online now is deep implemented in our lives.
Nadella isn't working with Microsoft he is working against them ...!!
Not a good decision, especially when the market is beginning to embrace the idea of music subscription. As it stands, Xbox Music is the only system comparable to Beats, Google Music, etc available on WP and Win8 in multiple markets. Chop it off and you're left with an even more so deadbeat Windows Phone. Honestly it seems like Nadella is gearing Microsoft into a company built purely on Office and backend Azure services. There are no substantive moves to indicate otherwise, in which case, bye WP, bye Windows, and bye Xbox (eventually).
Beats is ultimately useless.
Beats as part of Apple/iTunes however is not.
Buy Pandora Microsoft please!!!!
If they drop XBox music and video, we would like our old music + videos back... This might seem a lot for the wasted efforts but eventually will keep all the WP users happy.
Microsoft (or Nadella) better step up and clarify what is going on with Xbox music and Microsoft as a whole. When I show people the service, that is what gets them to move back to Windows Phone, Windows Tabets and Windows 8. I have people who are now asking me is there point moving to the Microsoft eco-system now.
I LOVE my Xbox music and use it daily on my phone and Xbox one and have since they started the service. It would be heartbreaking to lose it.
Nokia mix radio and Netflix is all I need...
Yeah I'll stick with Xbox Music, the app is fine, and I get to listen to whatever I want. None of this "radio" crap.
MixRadio is a better local player than Xbox Music.
Windows phone without Xbox music and Videos is like buying a CD player before CD was invented. The truth is Amazon and Apple and Google music streaming is not that great idea. These service are commodities and frankly should not be a source of revenue from these companies. With the failed attempts of Google to acquire Spotify and the recent acquisitions of Beats by Nokia is a good example that Neither companies are far ahead in the streaming business. And if Microsoft decides to streamline these services, what will be the alternative? Unless windows phone is next in the chopping block.
recent acquisitions of Beats by APPLE.
There is only one way you will get a clear answer? Nag the ever loving hell out of them till they answer. https://twitter.com/Intrepid00/status/492001887101923328
What if 'streamline' means to make gaming, music and video into an all-inclusive service . . . ?
Bring back Zune please.
Will hate losing music videos on the ONE. We have our 360 tied into the TV port on our ONE so the kids can play their Minecraft while I have Music snapped to the side.
Please MS dont do it! I want to stay here, I love windows. Getting rid of Xbox music and video would make me switch. I have put so much money in to them. How could your customers ever trust you again?? I wont. If you do this me and I know a lot more will leave and never come back. I have stuck with you will you develope and mature your apps. We are almost there! Dont quit now! Apple stuff just look to ugly for me. But I will switch if these music and video are canceled. You will betray me if you cut them. Rebranding and what not is ok, but dont cancel! And make sure I can keep my media! I have so much music and video through your services. I took a chance, please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please don't do it!
I wasn't to keen on Nadella when he was announced as CEO as I though Bates would be a better option to de-Americanize Microsoft. However, the more I see of Nadella's ruling, the more I like it. I'm glad he's focusing Microsoft on what they do best: software. These expansions to other realms are unnecessary and counter-productive. Xbox Music, Xbox Video, TV on the Xbox...all this is just stupid for Microsoft to do. It's not their core, it never was. They were trying to emulate Sony. Doesn't work that way. Even Apple...the only reason why iTunes lasts is because they were there first. They grabbed the opportunity to create the market for digital music and video before the others. Microsoft has none of that. I'm also glad he's focusing Xbox on GAMING because that's what the Xbox is meant to be: a freaking GAMING console. And I'm also glad he mentioned "mobile" gaming...maybe we'll finally see a turn around in the appalling situation of Xbox games for Windows Phone.
Add to this that it could create a market for one or more of the companies whose core is such content to provide a first-class experience on Microsoft's products without the conflict of facing Microsoft as direct competition. As somebody who keeps hoping for Zune to come back, this might not be a bad thing. Of course it's all just reading between the lines at this point so..
AGREED AND AS FAR AS IM CONCERNED MS QUIT THE MUSIC GAME WHEN THE GAVE UP ON ZUNE SOFTWARE.
Or....they are going the way of Blackberry by ignoring the consumer and concentrating on business. That worked well....
Bates is busy watching the hotel....
I disagree. I believe that if Microsoft wants to stay relevant they need to make inroads into the consumer space. I foresee their dominance in Enterprise to be slowly whittled away over the next decade. If they want to be on every device everywhere, they can't do it without the consumer side. They need a full ecosystem and services like Music, Video, TV are part of that. As to the Xbox, I personally didn't purchase it only for gaming. I purchased it because it was part of an ecosystem that was spread across all my devices. I understand some wanting it to remain a game system only, but for many it was the promise of something more.
One of the main reasons I bought a WP was to download music from my music pass and not have to chew up my data plan streaming music. If they get rid of it then I might as well switch devices with a free, low-bandwidth music streaming app.
I hate to say this because I've been such a Windows Phone evangelist, but I'm seeing fewer reasons to stick around. Music is a major driver for me and "streamlining" investments in the crippled Xbox Music makes zero sense. I thought the "dual use" language Nadella has been using, about "crossing work and life" meant Microsoft was going to dive more aggressively into productivity without making the mortal RIM mistake of putting the consumer/consumption side on the back burner. Moves like these combined with wide availabilty of products like Skype and OneNote on other platforms are, step by step, making Windows Phone irrelevant. (I think the latter strategy makes sense, by the way, I just see all these combined forces pulling in the same direction as far as the phone platform is concerned.)
As an Zune 30, 80, 120, HD64, HTC Arrive, L900, L925, Xbox, Xbox360, and XBone owner, I'll switch whole ecosystems. I never owned an Apple product, but the new iPhone is looking good to me. Music is why I stuck with Microsoft in the 1st place.
Same here I loved the zune
I'm not starting to like this new guys ☹☹
If they just make Xbox One a game only machine then I am done. I use this for 95% media and entertainment and 5% games which only my son uses. I enjoy music with streaming and still have the old zune plan where I get to "purchase" and own 10 songs per month with unlimited downloads for as long as I maintain my subscription. If I hear something I like, I just download it and add to a play list without worry of how much it costs. Xbox music allows me to explore music in much the same way Naptster did but legally. Having the ability to stream music and my playlists at the office, on my phone/car, and at home on the Xbox is much of the reason I bought the damn thing. IF they go straight gaming, my Xbox one will become a very expensive paper weight. Killing the studio is the right decision. Killing music and video store without a same or better replacement is insane.
I just checked Amazon's video player rights and they still suck royal balls. You can download a video to 2 devices than you are out of luck. Send in a device for warranty and get another and bam you just lost what could be 100s of dollars if not thousands of dollars all because you replaced a device. There isn't any good video store on the Xbox or Windows devices.
I thought about buying an xbox1 but no media forget it
This would piss me off/ already has
I wonder if he means that it will be removed from the Xbox brand and line of business and put with Onedrive, Bing or stood up on its own. Tough to see them ditching these services considering the mantra they use, but you could argue that Xbox doesn't have the expertise to do this. Posted via Windows Phone Central App
Well, the defiinition of Streamline is "make something more efficient: to make something such as a business, organization, or manufacturing process more efficient, especially by simplifying or modernizing it". But who knows with Nadella. He's a master of verbose obfuscation.
Oh definitely, but "streamline" in corporate speak also means to trim, pare down, reduce. In no case does it mean to expand or invest more resources.
Sometimes Microsoft acts like 4 year olds playing soccer. They just flock to wherever the ball is at the moment. They rarely play their position and let the game play out. Xbox Music doesn't even know what it is. We don't NEED another subscription music service. There are a dozen of them already. Xbox music had me at "your music, in the cloud", but they only half heartedly completed that goal. I have thousands of songs that I legally own, are stored on my PC but can't listen to on my phone because it would eliminate the need for a Music Pass". Give us a store to buy music, let us match our other music, and let us play it from anywhere... That's what Xbox Music should be.
What a buffoon, Nadella needs to go. He is a disaster.
+1
If this happens MS will be in a hell hole trying to find more customers/ consumers This is why many people including me go with MS in the 1st place
The problem is though MS has shown little success in getting big apps from big companies to make quality apps to replace or fill these holes. We will be left with a bunch of half baked apps that aren't updated and inferior to other platforms. Thus sucks
Are we ever going to get good news from this company?
....still more proof the CEO is a hack/mouthpiece working for short selling stockholders, not the best interest of the company. You do not run a healthy company like this. What an appaling joke.
You miss Steve baldmer?
This kind of articles is not helping. They cause people to worry either wrongly or too early. It's time for us to stop reading too much into words.
Marketing talk is to blame. Stop using buzzwords and just say what you mean and there won't be confusion.
The history of xbox video is a little more than that it started out as video marketplace then came zune marketplace then what we have today is simply xbox video
Then bring back windows media player! It's got everything I need for music and video. Create one for WP while you're at it!
I 2nd that but it has to have feature parity to the desktop eg. full support for audio streaming formats
I thought it had everything. I loved the fact that you can add plug-ins and do so much more with it.
Aside from iTunes cinemanow psn there really aren't that many pay to play outfits that work outside of US so to see the loss of xbox video would suck since unless they team up with one of those companies to transition users collections it would no doubt upset their 360 fanbase
I'm going to toss out a crazy idea. Maybe, just maybe Microsoft should be chatting up Amazon about loading their services onto all of Amazon's devices since they don't use Google's. The only real overlap is the online storage if MS cans Music and Videos. That would get more users onto MS's services that they want, and would fill a gaping hole in that Amazon doesn't provide email, document editing, etc.
It's weird, I told my gf that purchasing our movies thru MS was a good idea because no way would they go away. We now own a lot of tv and movies thru Xbox video... I wonder what happens to them?
Bad news.
Wow. Killing everything i like. Xbox music is my absolute most used app on wp, xbox, Laptop &tablet. Also bought already 16 movies on xbox Video, just thought why buying DVDs, when it's possible to have it on all my devices without touching any kind of external media. I like nadella, he does a lot, but maybe he's doing a bit too much. Why do I need a Xbox when the ps4 is better(gaming) and the multimedia home entertainment system isn't one anymore.
Never buy digital video and music from Microsoft. I learned that back when I had a Zune. They got rid of a buch of my music, so I could no longer download it and told me I should have burned it to a CD...no refunds.
lol @ "buying" DRM'd movies
OMG what else is this guy gonna cancel? He's like cut, cut, cut with no spending on risky idea. If all this guy wants to do is Windows+Office and No Xbox, Surface, or Lumia (because he is not Devices+Services he is Cloud+Mobile and he is willing to sabotage Windows and Windows Phone by making Apps available on iOS and Android) the Board needs to FIRE him ASAP. We need someone that believes that Microsoft can grow in non-traditional arenas. Xbox Services need to be consolidated, they need to buy/partner with Hulu/Netflix to subsidize access to content, making the Xbox the onramp to entertainment. One subscription, total access.
So agree with the buying/partnering with services like Hulu and Pandora. As Bing advertising is starting to take off, Microsoft advertising could really benefit from being implemented into popular apps like Hulu and Pandora. In fact buying Hulu would actually help justify killing Xbox Originals since Hulu is already creating it's own original programs. These are the kind of moves that would help make Microsoft more competitive in the consumer space, but unfortunately don't fit into the new bussiness-first, enterprise-first mantra. Apple and Google are gobbling up companies like Beats and Songza and Microsoft meanwhile is selling MixRadio and doing nothing to seriously compete.
So what happens to all of the movies/tv shows I've purchased on Xbox Video??
Xbox music is the only service on Windows Phone where you can actually download music. I like to own my music, not stream it. If they end the service, that would be horrible.
As long as I can still play my mp3's on my Windows phone, and get album art, I dont care what they do. I never buy music anyway.
Love Xbox Music... Endless music for cheap on every Win/Xbox device I own. Incredible.
This puts a Surface 3, Several Xbox Ones and any additional Windows phone purchases on hold for my family. The ecosystem I so love being torn apart. At least I'll get all the apps I miss when I have to go back to Android.
Bah who uses it anyway. All I need is a Amazon MP3 app to download my music and video.
I use Xbox Music for all my music and Xbox Video for all my movies and TV shows, so I hope not...
Look how much Apple makes with itunes... Bad decision again
Should have branded mix radio as their service. It can clearly stand on its own
This would pretty much be the end of WP. If they cut the Music service and make everyone rely on a 3rd party one, that likely won't be preinstalled, at the time when Google and Apple have their own music stores. This is not the way to be competitive when you're playing at a distant 3rd. If they're not serious about competing in this space, then just get out entirely, stop wasting money.
Joe Belfiore just tweeted there are no plans to drop anything. THANK GOD!
YES!!!!!!! Finally. Now remove all the Xbox Music/Video shenanigans and make a decent multimedia player.
This article became FUD quickly.
Don't give up, just allow streaming of music that is stored on Onedrive, and I'd gladly pay for this
First of all like with other admissions, people take them for fact as if they have already taken place. Satya said, "MAY BE" which give the implication of "MAY BE NOT" as well. As with many on this post, Xbox Music/Video does provide a unique cross platform experience that is rivaled by really no one else. I agree about Video being combined with the Music pass to create a mutually benefitting service for both experiences, but what kind of return in investment is MSFT getting to the revenue they're making to make the arguement to keep both services available and to continue funding them? That is going to determine what direction they go. Again, it's about big business, and it gets bloody at times. Usually if the stock price rises, it indicates that the company is doing well so I can't fault MSFT for that. At the end of the day there has been a lot of shifting and moving, and from the looks of things for the most part it's a good thing. We'll just have to wait and see what really happens.
they won't drope xbox music and video joe belfiore just tweeted about this topic
Belfiore ? LOL
Nadella is a joker, the whole world is moving to cloud services and his decision is to cut off music, video and TV streaming services from Xbox. MS has made a mistake appointing this guy. You don't cut off the head because you have headache, instead of evaluating the potentials; strengths and weaknesses in those services and re align or re strategize on how to better deliver those services and make them more attractive to consumers, he's taken a rather cowardice decision. This is why Apple and Google will always be ahead. What makes a phone, not just the platform (iOS, Android, WP or Tizen) it's the services available on it. Photography and imagery solutions only can't sell phones, quality competitive services like music, video, gaming, TV amongst others are the magic. RIP Xbox entertainment.
Joe Belfiore just tweeted that Xbox Music and Video are not going anywhere. A lot of redicolous drama because because Nadella said "streamlining" Since when did streamlining mean getting rid of? This site is so full of drama queens.
Right, because Belfiore can be counted on for facts and truth. NOT.
Streamling is business speak for lay offs and fewer resources. I don't blame the tech media for trying to parse what Nadella is saying. I blame Nadella for not being clear about the companies actual committment to the consumer space. We need more than words we need deals/content/products. I follow MS pretty damn closely and I can't figure out what they're really planning to do anymore. One minute they're buying Nokia's mobile division the next minute they're laying off half the company and more worringly cancelling their flagship Lumia phone for 2014. One minute they're inviting the media to a "small" Surface mini event, two weeks later the product is killed just before it is announced. One minute they're announcing Xbox Originals two months later they're saying they're shutting it down for good. I don't know what to believe anymore. The company seems like it is in complete disarray. I don't know if Nadella is serious about making products and services for consumers or if it is a half-hearted committment as he shifts all of the companies resources to business and enterprise.
That's a nice summary of the issue here.
Xbox Video should go. Microsoft have failed to do anything with it or make it competitive with Amazon. They'd be better off putting the money into bringing Amazon apps (and other competing services, whatever they may be) to the Windows ecosystem. Xbox Music, on the other hand, is a brilliant service that is currently only let down by a truly dismal app development team. The web app and the Windows app are actually pretty good, but still don't give the control (and ease of use) to do things that people can easily do in iTune and Zune. With a OneDrive music locker, and an app overhaul (on all platforms, plus a desktop all to bring the Windows 7 users into the fold - an astoundingly stupid decision to disregard their largest audience) and some decent advertising it will be fine. Though I understand why they don't advertise it right now, compared to iTunes it's simply not good enough (though that goes for everything iTunes does vs. Xbox Music and Windows Phone, still no idea why the team didn't just copy that model feature for feature where needed instead of blindly staggering about in the dark with seemingly no clue what a music/phone sync app is or does as if one has never existed until they tried it) and compared to the Google Play/Amazon model it's also not good enough (seriously, it's also like this team has never seen an online shop before, or ever bought an mp3 online). A decent music offering is a MAJOR part of the mobile-first, cloud-first world Nadella keeps talking about and so far not one of the alternatives has put out a compelling alternative (Spotify is a joke, Beats probably isn't long for this world, and the others simply haven't registered as more than a slight blip on my radar) on Windows so if Microsoft ditches Xbox Music that leaves their ecosystem without a viable (first party) music service essentially making them DOA. The entire Xbox Music app and UX/UI team needs to be fired and replaced with people who have music collections that are larger than five albums on Spotify, have used an online store before, know what an MP3 or FLAC file is, and have heard of or used iTunes and Google Play Music before. Then, maybe things will come together. But even if we're left with it how it is now, I'd rather that than nothing. If they do ditch it, they need to build in transition paths to other services. I've been a subscriber for four years and most of my music collection is all from Zune Pass - thousands of albums and loads of playlists. If they close the service I need to be able to take that data to Spotify and other services and know that it'll all get transferred. Boy, Nadella really shouldn't have said anything until they're ready to announce whatever it is they're going to announce...
Direct from Joe Belfiore's Twitter: "Don’t worry, no plan to drop Xbox Music/Video-- my team builds these key scenarios for tablets, phones, PCs! And Xbox team does on console."
Just add an extra $10 fee to Xbox Live basically $5 for music & $5 for video. If Microsoft could get half of the people who have live memberships to signed up Music & Video services it would be a nice boost for them. Best way to do that is to probably offer Live members a three month trial of both services they need to do something to lure people away from Netflix, Hulu plus, Spotify etc etc.
How about you pay $80-$99 a year and then choose each month you can either have the free games, some free video rentals, or unlimited music? It would be an interesting idea that would make an Xbox subscription very different from the other services out there (Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, Hulu, Pandora). None of those services offer the choice of games + movies + music for one subscription. They could even throw in some OneDrive or Skype services to further differentiate their Xbox subscription from the competition.
Microsoft made a big mistake by not listening to its customer always to slow to react. That's why sony is selling more consoles than Microsoft. The reason the price point. Now its making the very same mistake again first you stressed this ecosystem now your taking it away. Why have Microsoft hardware products if you can't deliver on basic software. You have one of the biggest cloud services is it that hard to maintain it in cloud. I'm the customer I know best not these dumb investors trying to maximize profit for the rich at the expense of the customers.
Joe belfiore on twitter "Don’t worry, no plan to drop Xbox Music/Video-- my team builds these key scenarios for tablets, phones, PCs! And Xbox team does on console."
The integrated music experience is what made WP7 and WP8 so much better. It's the one thing that has kept me from jumping ship. If that's gone, well... Or maybe... if they "killed" xbox music and brought the Zune brand back to life =) one can only hope.
Jackass is not a curse
Belfiore just tweeted that Xbox Music/Video are NOT going away.
Joe Just tweeted a few mins ago that they won't drop the xbox music and there's an update in the next couple weeks
If they drop Xbox Music I sure as hell hope they'll agree on some streaming service with iTunes store as a base, cause Xbox Music and iTunes is THE only place my favorite band publishes their music! I'm paying for XBM just to be able to listen to them. Cheaper than ordering all their material, even in the long run since a new single is released almost every 3-4 weeks, and an album about every 6-12 months. I'm getting so disappointed if they close the Xbox Music service!!!
Slow updates now dropping unique features and sales dipping - not an encouraging landscape is it? Blackberry died when they stopped innovating and getting product to market quickly - windows phone could easily go the same way as people wont get a 24mth contract on an old unsupported phone
People are just looking for something to bitch about.
Don't have to look, it's getting constantly thrown in our face.
You invest a small fortune into content for their music and video service and tell me how you would feel.
Who knows what to believe any more. Starting to learn my lesson of having all of my eggs in one basket though. What a rough couple of weeks.....
Man I hope this is not true.
Same here, Kevin :(
Joe all I can say is ILL BELIEVE IT WHEN I SEE IT. THE FEATURES I WANT ARENT EVEN FEATURES. I WOULD LIKE TO OPT OUT OF CLOUD MATCHING MY PERSONAL COLLECTION AND HAVE MORE SORTING OPTIONS LIKE WHAT I OWN AND WHAT IM SUBSCRIBING TOO. THE ABILITY TO BUY MULTIPLE TRACKS AT ONCE AND BUY ALBUMS/TRACKS IVE ALLREADY SUBSCRIBED TOO. AS FAR AS DESIGN, TAKE THE XBOX ONE MUSIC APP AND PUT THAT ON PHONES, TABLETS AND PC.
Microsoft is compromising services to utilize it's resources better? Microsoft is falling short of resources is the last thing I wanna hear.
Nutella gonna nutella
I'm glad I'm purchasing an iPhone 4 this week, even thou its for development purposes, but with the recent actions taken by MS it might turn out to be my new daily driver. Sad since I got my 1520 about 2 months ago... Getting closer to leaving the whole MS ecosystem. Using XBM on W8/WP8.1/Xb360 and starting Friday, Xbox one as well... I thought Satya would do some good, but it seems like he's there to wreck the place...
Zune, I mean Xbox Music is the reason I decieded to try my first WP. I have been a Zune user since it was first brought out, and I love the music pass. Since I got my first WP I loved the integration of the music service into my phone so I no longer had to have a Zune and a phone. My music was with me everywhere my phone went. I do like the windows phone now, and is the reason I upgraded to the Icon when that came out. If they ever did eliminate Xbox Music or eliminated the pass plan then I will probably move on from the windows phone. Instead of eliminating these things they need to work on bringing more apps to the store. Thats the one complaint I get from everyone I try to sway to WP. They cant get their fav apps that are available on iOS or Android. Stop chopping, and start adding!
He might have recently used the apps on Windows phone 8.1 and decided boy this is bad and needs to be shut down
well i can't use xbox video since i'm from Caribbean, i hear it's some sort of streaming service on your phone, but why can't it at least show local videos on my phone that i recorded with camera or even downloaded using Metrotube or other youtube apps, why do i have to go into the downloaded app to open video from there, why can't local videos at least be shown
That would be a huge mistake. MS needs to get out of the business of making stupid decisions. For every good thing it feels like five missed opportunities. I love Xbox video and music. If they axe it, honestly a lot of appeal goes out the window. Pun. Seriously. Boneheaded move if they drop it. If anything it should be bolstered. Sigh...
I knew it. I hate it that Microsoft cant remain dedicated to their services. This is already the third service cycle since Windows Mobile and zune. It's all nice and shiny and advertisement. For me it was already clear since zune that xbix music and video could never last long. In my experience the issue is that their pricing was top steep, for payments in europe too inflexible (complex creditcard logins, no or few internet banking options, and the video lineup library options too sliw and poor. Xbox music is okay but too expensive and n optin to listen offline. I am starting ti get worried about the future of Windows (Phone). Microsoft is pushing for streaming and cloud storage, but This news is making me ever more cinvinced that offline is still the (safe) way to go. This news had conviced me that sevices is a bleeding investment for Microsoft. I wonde hoe lng the van keep financng native wndows apos, onedrive and bing sevices. They will probably also sell your personal data in healthvault and bing health.
If they drop music and video I'm done in all honesty. What a stupid idea to ax your NATIVE music and video streaming/purchasing services. Counting on third parties to fill that void when they couldn't care less whether WP succeeds or fails is suicide.
Can easily see them keeping the Music app but ditching Xbox Music Pass. Its userbase is immaterial and I'd assume it doesn't generate any profit. Still, I dont see why people would inherently prefer to buy or stream music from iTunes or Google Play. MS theoretically could offer a one stop shop to wirelessly buy, stream and sync music on your work desktop, home laptop, tablet and phone.
Because some people already have libraries of music or video they've bought through those services, especially iTunes. Personally I have very few videos in either iTunes or MS's services. However I am not likely representative and there are probably quite a few people that are already "attached" to some service. So for those that are MS fans they likely have libraries with Microsoft and this news is a potential slap in the face.
We just need a developer to make a good 3rd party app
Microsoft had the best music service. You can actually download and stream. If I lose Xbox music I will more than likely leave wp. Music is what attracted me and what has kept me. I do like the OS. what other music services do we have that can do what Xbox music does
The master of over-promise and no-delivery (Belfiore) has spoken. It's getting canned.
THANK GOODNESS!! THANK YOU JOE!!!!!
They better keep it up. I love the service since its hard to find torrents for the music I like. If they could include video I'd pay for that too. An all in one service like Amazon prime would be killer, throw in some Ms store rewards and you have a killer combo, I'll stop shopping at best buy.
I know people have already harped on this. But they need to offer non-tablet users a non Windows 8 App client for music syncing OR expand their APIs such that Windows 8 Apps can become as full features as a desktop client could be. WE MISS ZUNE AND ITS FUNCTIONALITY. Ahem, let me correct myself, I DO. Please bring back usable playlist management, wireless sync, and beautiful cover art dominating graphics while in play mode. I know these are tall orders given the "we opted to go file storage rather than propriatary" with USB modes, but still. Also, get rid of download caps for purchased music. My "wishes" as it were. Thanks for reading! Hah.
If they do shut down the music and video sections. That will give more reasons NOT to buy Microsoft products.
Personally, I don't care; for streaming I use Songza, Spotify, Tunein Radio and Mix Radio. But aren't we forgetting something? Hello! Xbox Music and Video are the *default* music and video players on WP devices. Not being able to play song and video files out of the box on a smartphone, and pulling the app, seems a bit......daft?
Read the article again, the real concern is not about the apps but the services.
Ok, lemme try to stay on top of this... bring back Zune, Bring Amazon Prime (Dafuq for?!), their spriraling down the drain and going broke, and Nadella now suddenly sucks...? You people don't need mobile devices you need to spend your days watching soap opera's
For the record...xbox music syncs your hdd music across all your devices. There is no signing in either. It also has cortana integration. Its bit rate is higher than itunes and amazon. It would be a big miss to loose this one. As for video...a bit more Kinect integration in smartglass supporting titles. A bit more smartglass. 3d and 4k support and you'll blow away even sony's 600.00 streaming device. And the Xbox is only 500. Oh and please incorporate vudu or some way to use a vudu code to get Xbox video version. That would be cool and move people over.
Xbox live gold shold be.
2 free games per month.
2free Xbox videos per month less than a month old
And a free music subscription.
Does Nadella realise that to kill xbox music and video will mean killing windows phone and windows tablets in most of the world. The US/UK may have Netflix, plus a whole load of music streaming services available on WP, but for the rest of the world there is literally no other option on the windows phone, xbox and windows tablet platforms. If they kill xbox video and music my options will be a) go to android our ios or b) illegal download and be forced to fill up my phone storage with content I'd usually stream...
Wow, you all are kind of embarrassing. I really feel bad for the Microsoft folks who read this rubbish.
Anyone who spends time reading comments on the internet or in talking with people should realize that a lot of people really can't think worth sh*t. Logical fallacies abound with sloppy premises and such, it's a philosopher's nightmare. This should be no surprise, you can see it everywhere from the political sphere to comments at WP Central. As above, so below, as below so above. Given this should be widely known it's unforgivable for Microsoft to shove their foot in their mouth by suggesting something like streamlining a service that some consumers have already invested and built up libraries without clearly addressing that issue.
Nadella absolutely sucks at communication. Rather than speak in plain, simple language, he speaks in platitudes. Nadella also created a PR kerfuffle when he stated yesterday that they were streamlining Windows and will create one Windows to run on everything, when in fact, he was only talking about creating one backend, unifying the app and developer platforms, and unifying the kernel and codebase. Nothing else will change. WP8.1 will continue to exist, separately from Windows.
Absolutely is perhaps a tad extreme but overall, yes you are right.
He's guilty of one thing so far... the dude is an engineer, and he talks like one. He does not use typical PR speak. He didn't cause anything. He made a statement in his usual engineer-speak, that might have needed to be explained to the layman, but the rest of it was the typical shitty writers being quick to take any, and everything Microsoft and running with it whether they have factual information or not. Instead of bashing him (prematurely at least) try to understand that the worthless blogs that pass themselves off as tech sites are nothing more than over opinionated rags that have little more *real* information than you or I. Stay away from those click-bate driven sites and things will be better.
Heck, if they just fix the metadata issue for real and for good, I'll have no reason to complain about Xbox Music. It does everything else I want a music app to do--except get the metadata right. Just read the files and read the folders and present that in the app. Is that so hard?
Well, that's great that Joe Belfiore tweeted that his team is still working on the XBox Music software! I'm sure Nokia managers and employees were working just as diligently in the Nokia X and feature phone divisions......until the next day, they weren't. Point being, the CEO will make the call if the services stay or go; Joe Belfiore is a senior manager, but he has no say.
Seriously though nadella was on the right path but dropping music and videos from Xbox is a huge mistake. No one is going to buy a windows phone or think $400+ console purely for a gaming is worth it without other entertainment features. He will cripple MS more. No ecosystem, no Microsoft.
Wait, wait, wait!! Just a few months ago, the the XB1 was announced, all the talk surrounding it was saying that it was too entertainment focused. Not saying it was you particularly, but people really need to make up their minds.
Microsoft should take the road less traveled and embrace user-created content. No additional pay walls or forced entry into some mediocre system for purchasing media. Just focus on what what buy you or support you for... Playback, usage, functionality. The extra truly is EXTRA.
I use xbox music and video on phone, laptop and xbox 360. If ms reads these sites they should see that the service is well wanted and that it is them that needs to do the work.
Satay's comment about focusing on games and gaming I completely contradictory when they have given up on xbox gaming in wp. So I don't understand why they would ditch music to work on something they have near on ditched???
Amazon instant video is relative new in comparison to xbox music/video. And we are comparing what should be a much more mature service like xbox music/video (especially if you include Zune) to a new service. This is insane for a company that makes this much money.
I love my Xbox Music subscription. It is a primary reason I am on the platform. So let's hope Joe is being straight with us, better performing platform, and a backend to support it.
Hopefully he was jusrt referring to the cloud services. If they stopped or even slowed maintenance of their main music app that might be th elast straw for me, as much as I hate to say it.
What I am seeing is some very poor messaging by Microsoft. While they are busy hinting at their plans to their investors they are repeatedly slapping their consumers around. Whether cancelling McLaren without clearly indicating that there will be a flagship device this fall/winter or potentially implying that they may pull the rug out from under their Music and Video consumers without specifying their intent, Microsoft is repeatedly distressing their consumers. When a company's CEO makes a statement that they are going to "streamline our investments in music and video" it is reasonable for the consumers of those services to wonder what that means. When comments like streamlining are made in the context of layoffs and the cancelation of projects it's not necessarily unreasonable for consumers to be concerned. Nadella likely needs to indicate to MS's investors their stance on what is no doubt money losing endeavors like XBox Music and Video and one would assume his comments are not off the cuff. Given that I wonder why Microsoft does not have messaging ready for their consumers of what to expect. I think it would be a sign of competence to realize that this news would be potentially distressing to some and would also be competent to have a prepared message for their consumers. Ad hoc Twitter messages about the commitment to the software while not addressing the services and consumers investments in the services is sloppy and misses the mark. Unfortunately MS seems to show a consistent and repeated lack of understanding and sophistication in their messaging with their consumers.
Wow a lot of people are sounding like I sounded. Right now windows phone is a weaker version of android and ios. They are taking away features that made them unique. I gave them 2 years and they could not bridge the gap. Posted via Windows Phone Central App
Thank you a**hol** for complaining about Xbox music and video, are you happy now. You could just give an idea on http://xboxmusic.uservoice.com instead of complaining
Nadella do something stupid so Microsoft can fire you. I wish that you lose your job and be a CEO of Apple and ruin them
Don't you fuckimg dare Nadella. You take away my shows now you take away my music. If Xbox Music is closed down then I'll use the money I use to pay for my subscription to dig up my own grave
Glad to hear Xbox Music is not going anywhere. Today I was listening to a song on the radio, hit song ID on Cortana and added it to my "New Music" playlist. I was wondering how that would work without Xbox Music.
Pretty much the same analysis as Daniel's, in the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/article/xbox-music-and-xbox-video-live-to-see-an...
i don't mind if they don't do tv show but don't tuch to xbox music, I don't wanna redo my play list again in another service...
Honestly, I think Nadella is seriously right. iTunes, Spotify, Beats, Songza, Pandora and so on. In this sector, there are a lot of competitors, and Xbox Music has nothing to offer that the competitors don't already have. Same goes for Videos. This time, Microsoft wasn't late at the party (Zune was there much before Spotify became a hit) but still they didn't manage to do any good, and Xbox Music app on WP is the living proof that they are also very slow to catch up and keep up with the competitors. Killing it and putting the money into something else is the way to go. Think about it: 80% of the issues Xbox Music on Windows Phone had where related to the streaming/online service. Duplicate songs, wrong tagging, playing the cloud song instead of the local one, DRM problems with the Zune/Xbox passage and so on: all issues created because the developers had to juggle between local and cloud content. Not to mention the slowness due to all the loading of the cloud content (as example, the "get new music" pivot that shows up even if I never used Xbox Music to purchase anything). If MS didn't have to push its music service on our telephones, at this point we would probably have a great music player able to play local and on Onedrive music. Instead, all we got is a lousy app (on all the platforms) and a service I would be scared to pay (seriously, the apps already handle quite badly local songs, I can't imagine how it would be if it had to load also the cloud collection... Not to mention all the mess they did with DRMs...). It's doing more harm than good. Nadella would be right killing it.
Don't care too much for XBOX VIDEO. That's pretty overpiced and no UV support. I use the Neutral Party VUDU, where I can access my movies just about anywhere and still have Ultra Violet Support. Plus, they have monthly sales for 5 and 7.88 for SD and HD respectively. They also have 99 cent rentals. Can't go wrong with that. XBOX MUSIC, on the other Hand, I LOVE!!! If only because I'm grandfathered with the 10 free songs and no one else gives you Ad-Free Music Videos (XBOX Only) with their Subscribtion. To me, at the moment, this is the best service for my needs. If that ever changes, I'll look for an Alternative.
I Prefer for MIXRADIO <3
It's interesting to me that while my Fortune 100 employer is increasingly pushing MS out the door in favor of Google products, I have invested fully into MS products and services (phone, tablet, PC, console). Now Satya seems to be driving MS away from consumers and more toward business. It's his perogative as a leader to do so and it may ultimately be the best decision, but it sure is starting to feel like he is hanging MS' most passionate customers out to dry.
OMG Microsoft! Don't drop Xbox Music!!! Sure, there are other competing services, but this is the best of all the one's I've tried. Not necessarily the best apps yet, but they're getting there. The key is the beautiful sync and access on all my devices; phone (for when I'm driving), Xbox (at home), and Surface (at work). I love it! Just advertise it better!!
Agreed!
Y'know i was really hopeful when this guy took the reins. But some of the decisions and work coming out of Microsoft since has been...concerning, to say the least.
I feel like they should move the service to a new team; perhaps the Bing team. It has a good ring to it: Bing Music + Video. They did make the podcasts app better and, heck, the Bing news, weather, sports, etc. are actually pretty well designed. I realize Xbox is a strong brand, but really, I don't see the sense in the Xbox branding. Or just call it OneMusic and be done with it.
I was going to comment about the many issues surrounding the performance of Xbox Music, but I deciced to stop beating a dead horse. With no Surface Mini coming out, I am setting my sights on an (yuck) iPad when the new ones come out. My contract for my current phone is up next month and I just might make the switch to the new iPhone and be done with MS in the mobile market. #SadDayForMe
I think there's a big difference between a workable and effective music player for your legacy collection of bought music and a streaming service, or even a music marketplace. What has been disappointing is the quality of an app which does the very basics - sync and play purchased music. I don't want Microsoft to supply me with streamed music, but I do want a basic music playing app - something which I have had on my phone since 2006, and which I feel is not good enough in WP8. Yet to try 8.1 though. Is it any better? Posted via Windows Phone Central App
I think they're bringing the Zune back. This time, they nailed it!
Seems bigger/stronger. Waiting :3
Is the native app on Windows tabs like SP Xbox music and video? Because that music app is the only app that can read and load my thousands of music as well as import all my playlists from my Zune or any other player
Stop it Nadella, stop it!!
Put Xbox music and video together, I hate having separate apps for media. Also they need to make it part of the Xbox live subscription. there would be toms of users then.
It would make sense to keep Xbox music in some capacity at least of a mobile first cloud first for all your files IF they ever got OneDrive Music Locker going...
Bring back Zune! That was the best music software EVAR! The Xbox Music app just doesn't flow well. I get confused everytime I use it. The software in the Zune device had a very nice flow. Everything just worked.
Interesting timing on this. I just canceled my "Zune" sub which included the 10 free downloads a month. The experience was so awesome when it was Zune and all things quickly went downhill after rebranding it as Xbox Music. So many issues like.... * Xbox Music forgetting about at least half of my music collection purchased with my 10 freebies and some music purchased with $$$ * Even losing access to songs I've purchased with 10 freebies and $$$ since the rebranding * Albums disappearing and reappearing (if they reappear, associated songs do not get re-added to my collection) * Duplicate Albums showing up in market place (which typically coincides with any associated songs I've purchased no longer belonging to my collection) I used to love the service. It was well worth it. But it seems clear to me that they have no intention on improving it let alone bringing it back to its former glory when it was Zune.
They better not freaking drop either one of these services! If they would stop doing everything half ass they would start making money on these products. We are coming up on two years for Music and still not a descent player available, and no third party players. When I open Xbox Music I expect to see a music player, and not the crap UI they have now. Freaking Apple's iTunes PC app and there music player is light years ahead of the poor design Microsoft has at this time. If anything at least copy iTunes until you figure out what to do. As for Xbox Video it has been around longer than two years and I still can't sync up movies watched between devices, website, and PC. Copy Netflix.
Jeez, that would be terrible news. One of the key features of the one is its ability to do all different types of consumption of multimedia. I love Xbox Music and would really be sad to see that service go. I think they should look into acquirung a company to bolster the feature set. Should have snapped up songza when they had the chance. TBH, I think Xbox Video is probably the weaker of the two services. Maybe if they offer a subscription service like Amazon or Netflix or Hulu, it would be somewhat more marketable. I dont buy much videos but when I do, its usually through Amazon. I have bought some videos through Xbox Video but its few and far between when I do do that.
I'm very excited to see the score mentioned big update. Locally stored music is one of the main things I use my Lumia Icon for and it is completely unacceptable that I cannot pause a song, lock my phone, and resume said song a few moments later. If this update doesn't add this kind of basic functionality that should seriously consider separating that apps. One optimized for locally stored files and the other for the Xbox Music cloud / streaming services.
Like lots of people are writing, XboX Music should be free for all Live Gold customers. I pay for both, and do want XBMusic to continue living on. XboX Video should be like Netflix with unlimited streaming and monthly subscription, but also have an section with pay per view for newer titles.

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