Shocking almost no one, this afternoon Microsoft finally closed the chapter on its Xbox Music streaming service. Henceforth, Xbox Music on Windows Phone, iPhone, Android, Xbox One and the web shall be known as Groove, a dedicated music services made by the same people who brought you Xbox Music.
Microsoft confirmed that the Xbox Music name was on its way out and that Groove Music would replace it in a post to its Windows Blog. The service is called Groove because Microsoft wanted to have a name that resonated with what users did while they were listening to music, according to today’s post. Microsoft is careful to note that Groove won’t mean that it’s starting over on its apps. For now it’s just a rebranding. Zune Music Pass will switch names to Groove Music Pass and work the same way it always has. For now there’s only one official Groove music app available to users and that’s the Music app built into Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system.
All told, a switch to yet another brand for Xbox Music isn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened. Some speculated that Microsoft might kill off the service entirely. The rather quick fashion in which they announced the service has some speculating that the company wasn’t close to ready, but had to push up its time table after the Phone Companion app built into new versions of Windows 10 leaked the name. Microsoft says it’ll leave the video portion of what used to be Zune Video on its own. In Windows 10 it’s known as TV & Movies.