Microsoft to Introduce New Music Streaming Service, Competes with Last.FM on Xbox?

Just about everyone was excited to hear the Last.FM, the popular music streaming service, was coming to the Xbox 360 at some point this year. However, according to England’s The Telegraph paper, Microsoft is set to debut a new music streaming service by the end of this month with tentive plans to bring the service to the Xbox 360. Two music streaming applications on one platform? Sounds odd.

From The Telegraph:

Peter Bale, executive producer of MSN, Microsoft’s news and entertainment portal, told The Telegraph exclusively: “Music is an important area for Microsoft. We are looking at launching a music streaming service imminently. It will be a similar principle to Spotify but we are still examining how the business model will work.”

He also hinted the service could be tied in with Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console, but would not be drawn on the details of how a partnership would work. The addition of a Microsoft-owned music streaming service would tie in with an increasingly consumer focussed strategy from company to make its Xbox 360 console the main “entertainment hub” in the family home. Users are already able to download movies through their console and play games against one another online.