Xbox Music announced

Microsoft has today announced Xbox Music, a new service rolling out tomorrow on Xbox 360 (it'll launch on October 26 for Windows 8 and Windows RT PCs and tablets/mobile phones) that'll offer music lovers a chance to access a database of over 30 million songs.

"The launch of Xbox Music is a milestone in simplifying digital music on every type of device and on a global scale," said Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "We're breaking down the walls that fracture your music experiences today to ensure that music is better and integrated across the screens that you care about most - your tablet, PC, phone and TV."

For the first six months subscribers to the service will enjoy six months of free streaming (after that time it becomes limited, except for paying customers) on Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets and PCs. There'll be over 30 million tracks in the database available to stream.

Their version of Spotify, Microsoft are offering Xbox Music Pass. It'll cost £8.99 per month, but will allow unlimited playback for anything in the collection. There'll also be the Xbox Music Store, which will be rivalling iTunes as a place to make your download purchases.

Smart DJ is to be an artist-based radio service, allowing you to tailor your online music experience, and next year the service will roll out Cloud Storage.