Xbox Music streaming comes to Xbox 360, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8

Microsoft’s new music service launches with over 30 million free tracks on 16 October.

Microsoft is looking to woo you with a new free streaming music service called Xbox Music.

Launching on Xbox 360 on 16 October, it will offer more than 30 million tracks to listen to free of charge.

Xbox Music will be ad-funded with an option for an ad-free subscription version that costs £8.99 a month.

Once Windows 8 arrives on 26 October the service will be extended to any new Windows 8 device, with Windows Phone 8 products getting in on the act, too.

Sound too good to be true? The free streaming will only be unrestricted for the first six months of the service, after which the total amount of hours available each month will become restricted for free users. Paying customers will be able to stream as much as they like, plus there’s an offline mode for them to enjoy as well.

Xbox Music includes an iTunes-like store, so if you like a track you’ll be able to click to buy it. The only bad news is that current Windows 7 and Windows Phone 7 users won’t have access to the service. An odd move as Microsoft is also promising to bring the service to Android devices further along the line.

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