There’s a new heavyweight gorilla in the ad-supported music-streaming game, and it’s Microsoft. Microsoft’s third (or fourth?) attempt at building a music store is the first one with the Xbox brand in the title, and will be heavily integrated into Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. The Verge is reporting that it will launch on October 26, and in addition to subscription options, there will be a free streaming service supported by ads (like Spotify.) Perhaps the coolest part of Xbox Music will be SkyDrive integration, which like Google and Apple’s song-matching services, will allow users to upload music to Microsoft’s servers and access it from anywhere with an Internet connection. Well, almost anywhere. Microsoft says that iOS and Android apps are forthcoming, but when the service launches it will be a Microsoft-only affair.
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