Microsoft just announced its new Xbox Music service, which will offer Windows 8 and Windows RT users free streaming music from 30 million tracks. However, the current Zune Music service is not going away completely.
The Verge has confirmed with Microsoft that owners of Windows 7-based PCs, as well as owners of Windows Phone 7.5 based devices, can still access the Zune Music service but won't be able to access the features in Xbox Music, which will be limited to Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows Phone 8 and Xbox 360 owners (Microsoft also plans to launch iOS and Android ports of Xbox Music in the near future).
Jerry Johnson, the general manager of Xbox Music, states, "Windows 7 will still have the old Zune client. That client will have access based on the subscriptions and the content that anyone purchased and that content can flow forward to Windows 8 but we're not touching that client just now."
At the end of August, Microsoft decided to shut down a number of the features used by Zune Music customers, including their ability to share songs, playlists, and albums and its Mixview playback and channel playlists.
Source: The Verge | Image via Microsoft
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