Microsoft denies the closure of Xbox Music/Video and promises important improvements
After the layoffs announced by Microsoft, there were a lot of rumors about a possible closure of the Xbox Music and Xbox Video services, which currently work both on Xbox consoles and on Windows 8 and Windows Phone.
The basis for these rumors was the closure of Xbox Entertainment Studios, an initiative by the company to create their own television content for users of Xbox Live (in the style of Netflix Originals), which was accompanied by statements by Satya Nadella implying that the company would focus its efforts on games, in detriment of music and video services.
To this we had to add the announcement of the MixRadio team to separate from Microsoft to form an independent company. MixRadio crew chief Jyrki Rosenberg said the reason for parting ways with Redmond is that the company's entertainment strategy would be shifting toward partnering with other content providers and offer a good platform for them to develop applications, rather than offer content themselves
Putting all of those pieces together, it's easy to see why the outlook for Xbox Music and Xbox Video didn't seem very rosy, and why rumors were sparking that Microsoft would back off with both services ( either closing them or selling them to a third party).
In light of this, Joe Belfiore, vice president of Windows Phone at Microsoft, came out to calm things down on Twitter, stating that Xbox Music and Xbox Video are here to stay , and that in a couple of weeks there will be a major update for Xbox Music, which will include performance improvements, bug fixes, and new functionality.
Something logical, after all, producing original television series is far from Microsoft's mission and the areas where they know how to create value. However, maintaining a music and video distribution service for your devices seems to be something more essential, in particular because it allows you to guarantee a good user experience on your platforms (despite the fact that for now they are in debit on this plane).
I don't think it's a coincidence that all the tech giants have their own music and video services (Apple with iTunes, Amazon with Prime and its Music Store, and Google with Google Play), and that 2 of they have made significant investments buying music companies (Beats and Songza). They all care that their devices have a good experience from the first moment they are used, and for that it is crucial to have a complete content store, integrated into the operating system, and easy to use. wear.
Also, keep in mind that the word used by Satya Nadella when referring to investments in music and video (streamline) does not necessarily mean that efforts are reduced in these services, but also that can be interpreted as wanting these efforts to be more efficient and focused on the core of the service.
Via | Joe Belfiore's Twitter
