When the Xbox One launches later this month, users won’t necessarily have to sign up for an Xbox Music Pass to listen to the service’s catalogue.
Tweets made by Microsoft’s Albert Penello this week indicate that Xbox Music on the Xbox One will be freely available to users saying, “Yes You don’t have to subscribe, but you will get periodic ads.” While this is being described by a few major sites as Xbox Music being free with Xbox LIVE Gold, its actually identical to the system that allows users to listen to Xbox Music content for free through Xbox Music on Windows and Xbox Music on the web.
While streaming on a PC or tablet is free today, streaming through devices isn’t free. In fact users on Android and iOS have to sign up for an Xbox Music Pass to stream content to those operating systems’ Xbox Music apps.
Microsoft hasn’t shared anything about the media experience on the Xbox One beyond acknowledging that it would include DLNA, DVD and Blu-Ray support.
Editor’s Note: As Marques Lyons pointed out in the comments, Microsoft has issued a statement clarifying how free Xbox Music streaming will work on the Xbox One. “When the Xbox One launches later this month, users won’t necessarily have to sign up for an Xbox Music Pass to listen to the service’s catalogue.”