
Microsoft retires Groove Music service, partners with Spotify - nozzlegear
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/2/16401898/microsoft-groove-music-pass-discontinued-spotify-partner
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ocdtrekkie
Wow, this is a huge change. I have used Groove Music Pass in the past, and
found it decent, though I realized I save a lot more money buying MP3s than
paying for streaming. (I add less songs to my playlists monthly than the cost
of a sub.)

This article also doesn't mention: Will they continue selling music in the
Windows Store? I am assuming this just ceding the subscription model only.
Will they keep the existing "Groove" name for the app, or will this someday
once again be "Windows Media Player"?

EDIT: To answer my own, Microsoft's original blog post says they will stop
selling music altogether:
[https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2017/10/02/micro...](https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2017/10/02/microsoft-
to-bring-spotify-to-groove-music-pass-customers/#6U0oqqc0FoXLy2uA.97)

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nozzlegear
My first reaction to this announcement is disappointment and "well, it was
only a matter of time". I'm going to miss the OneDrive integration which lets
you stream whatever music you have in OneDrive. I'll also miss the app itself,
although maybe I'm alone there being one of seemingly few that enjoys UWP
apps. Granted, Spotify recently released an app for the Windows Store [1], but
it's not a UWP app. Rather it's just their regular desktop app packaged up for
the Store with Project Centennial.

[1]: [https://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/store/p/spotify/9wzdncrfj4wk](https://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/store/p/spotify/9wzdncrfj4wk)

~~~
amatwl
The Groove/ music app appears to be staying. It will still support playing
music from OneDrive and local files (apparently the iOS/ Android apps won't be
going anywhere either).

The things that are going away after Dec. 31st are the streaming service and
music store (i.e. purchasing albums/ individual tracks). You won't be able to
download any music from the store after Dec. 31st.

Here's the FAQ: [https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4046109/groove-
musi...](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4046109/groove-music-and-
spotify-faq)

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ipol
Microsoft gave up on Groove years ago when they themselves wrote the
"official" Spotify client for Windows Phone. Spotify couldn't be bothered to
invest a dime of resources into the development. Free is free.

