Xbox Music has announced integration with OneDrive that will allow songs store on the cloud storage system to be played from the app. This includes the app on Windows 8, Windows Phone 8.1, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. While it isn’t exactly a full music streaming service, OneDrive integration will make it easier for users to play their music while away from their computers.
The main beneficiary of this new feature are Xbox users who can now use it to replace the in-game music with their own playlists. On the other hand, PlayStation users will soon have their PlayStation Music service replaced with a Spotify integration. One wonders why Microsoft has not made a similar move and found a music streaming service to partner with. Not to say that playing music stored on the cloud isn’t fantastic, it is just of limited use to the listening habits of users these days.
This OneDrive-Xbox Music integration also similar to the Google Play Music’s cloud storage service. A service that also allows users to upload songs to the cloud for streaming later. However, Google’s version is also connected to a wider library of music (and other media) that can also be accessed.
Sadly, while the Xbox Music app is available on all Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.1 devices, this feature is only available in selected (Xbox supported) regions. Which is a real pity, considering that this is obviously a feature that is meant to promote the use of OneDrive in the Microsoft eco-system.
[Source: Xbox Music via Engadget]
