Microsoft will start offering Xbox Music on Tuesday.
The service will come along with the Xbox 360 Dashboard update. Xbox Music is branded for entertainment and will come pre-installed on all Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices, The Verge reported.
Xbox Music will have the best of iTunes, Spotify and Pandora. It will have services like options of iTunes, streaming options, and a Smart DJ radio option.
Xbox Music will give a three-way service: free, ad-supported streaming and a $9.99 monthly subscription that will be ad-free and have unlimited play. The subscription service is dubbed Xbox Music Pass. Zune subscribers can start accessing it from Oct. 16 with Xbox Music Pass. The rest can opt for a 30-day trial period, which is free.
The Xbox Music UI is tiled and gives unified experience across Windows 8, Xbox 360 and Windows Phone 8, The Verge says.
With the Xbox Music Pass Xbox, users will have access to nearly 70,000 music videos.
"We really focused on where is the best place to enjoy and consume music videos and we said it's going to be the big screen," said Jerry Johnson, Xbox Music's general manager.
After its launch on Tuesday, the free music streaming will only be available for Windows 8 and will be available in 15 markets. The subscription-based Xbox Music Pass and Xbox Music Store will be available in 22 markets, The Verge said.
Microsoft said Xbox Music will have 30 million tracks worldwide, calling it "on par with iTunes." According to Microsoft, Xbox Music is the "first all-in-one music service that gives you the freedom to stream custom-created playlists for free."
By 2013, a number of features will come to Xbox Music like social integration, scan-and-match functionality, and a cloud-based locker.
Users of Windows 7 cannot access Xbox Music and will have to be content with Zune.
