Groove Music

Microsoft's music service after Zune, renamed twice and handed to Spotify

Shut down
19902026

Groove Music was Microsoft's music player and streaming service, launched as Xbox Music with Windows 8 on 26 October 2012 as the successor to Zune, and renamed Groove on 6 July 2015 for Windows 10. Groove Music Pass, its 40 million track subscription and download store, closed on 31 December 2017 with customers moved to Spotify. The mobile apps ended in December 2018 and the Windows app was replaced by a new Media Player from 2022.

Timeline [edit]

  1. 2012
  2. 4 June 2012 Feature
    Xbox Music announced at E3

    Microsoft's music brand moves from Zune to Xbox.

  3. 26 October 2012 Launch
    Xbox Music launches with Windows 8

    30 million tracks, free streaming on Windows 8, $9.99 Music Pass.

  4. 2013
  5. 9 September 2013 Feature
    iOS, Android and web apps

    Xbox Music leaves Microsoft's own platforms.

  6. 2015
  7. 6 July 2015 Rebrand
    Renamed Groove Music

    Ships with Windows 10 on 29 July.

  8. 2017
  9. 2 October 2017 Shutdown announced
    Groove Music Pass to end 31 December

    Playlists move to Spotify.

  10. 31 December 2017 Shutdown
    Groove Music Pass and store close

    Groove becomes a local player only.

  11. 2018
  12. 1 December 2018 Shutdown
    iOS and Android apps shut down

    Announced in May 2018.

  13. 2022
  14. 15 February 2022 other
    Replaced by Media Player

    Windows 11 first, Windows 10 in January 2023.

The site through time

Browse music.microsoft.com as it was, via the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine:

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Full archive →

Ownership [edit]

Microsoft 2012–2017 Founded Built on the Zune Music Pass catalogue and team; the Windows app lingered as a local player until 2022

Why it shut down [edit]

Official line: On 2 October 2017 Microsoft announced that Groove Music Pass, its streaming subscription and store, would end on 31 December 2017 and that subscribers could move their playlists to Spotify. The iOS and Android apps were shut down on 1 December 2018. The Windows app survived as a local player until Microsoft replaced it with a new Media Player in Windows 11 in early 2022 and in Windows 10 in January 2023.

Our analysis: Microsoft entered streaming three times under three names, Zune, Xbox Music and Groove, and never with the catalogue, the apps or the price that would pull anyone away from Spotify or Apple. Groove Music Pass was a good service almost nobody paid for, and once Windows Phone was dead there was no captive device left to sell it on. Sending its customers to Spotify was an unusually honest way to admit it.

History [edit]

Zune, Xbox Music, Groove

When Microsoft retired the Zune brand in 2012 it did not retire the service behind it. Xbox Music, announced on 15 October and switched on with Windows 8 on 26 October 2012, was the same catalogue and the same Music Pass subscription with a bigger name attached: 30 million tracks, free ad-supported streaming on Windows 8 and RT, $9.99 a month for everything else, on the Xbox 360, Windows Phone and, from September 2013, iOS, Android and the web. It was Microsoft's fourth attempt at a music store, after MSN Music, the Zune Marketplace and, briefly, URGE with MTV.

On 6 July 2015 Microsoft renamed it Groove, reusing a name it already owned from Ray Ozzie's Groove Networks, and shipped the app with Windows 10 three weeks later. Groove Music Pass added OneDrive locker playback, a web player and Sonos support, and it was a perfectly competent service. Its problem was that Windows Phone was disappearing underneath it, and on iOS or Android nobody had a reason to choose it over Spotify.

Handed to Spotify

On 2 October 2017 Microsoft announced that Groove Music Pass would end on 31 December 2017 and that the store would stop selling music. It had struck a deal with Spotify: a button in the Groove app moved your playlists and collection across, and there was a 60-day free trial. The Groove app itself stayed in Windows 10 as a local file player, and the iOS and Android apps were shut down on 1 December 2018.

The last chapter was quiet. In November 2021 Windows Insiders on Windows 11 saw Groove replaced by a new Media Player app; it rolled out to everyone in February 2022 and to Windows 10 in January 2023, keeping Groove's library and playlists but dropping the name. Groove Music was Microsoft's last consumer music service; it has not tried again.

The domain today

music.microsoft.com redirects to a Microsoft support article about the end of Groove Music Pass and the Spotify migration.

Similar projects

Winamp It really whips the llama's ass 1997–2013 RealPlayer Buffering… buffering… 1995–now Grooveshark All the music, none of the licences 2007–2015 Windows Media Center The living-room PC that arrived before streaming 2002–2015 Google Play Music Your music locker, repossessed 2011–2020 BS.Player Still shipping, about one release every three years 2000–now

Sources [edit]

  1. Microsoft announces Xbox Music The Verge 4 June 2012 [archived]
  2. 30 million track Xbox Music service coming from Microsoft Ars Technica 5 June 2012 [archived]
  3. Xbox Music launches on iOS and Android The Verge 9 September 2013 [archived]
  4. Xbox Music is now Groove as Microsoft recycles and rebrands Ars Technica 6 July 2015 [archived]
  5. Microsoft is shutting down Groove Music Pass and partnering with Spotify The Verge 2 October 2017
  6. Microsoft discontinuing Groove Music Pass streaming service Dec. 31 GeekWire 2 October 2017
  7. Microsoft killing off the Groove Music apps for iOS and Android Ars Technica 11 May 2018
  8. Goodbye Groove Music: new Media Player rolls out to Windows 11 Windows Central 15 February 2022 [archived]

Last verified: 15 August 2026. Spotted an error? Suggest an edit (corrections with sources are reviewed and applied).