It is a moment of disappointment for Groove users, as Microsoft has decided to discontinue this digital music streaming service.
Jerry Johnson, the General Manager of Microsoft Groove, himself confirmed this news and said that Music Pass support in Groove and music purchase in the Windows Store will be abandoned soon. Johnson added that Groove music app will continue supporting playback and management of owned content.
Microsoft partnering with Spotify
In this move, Microsoft is partnering with Spotify, thus allowing the existing Groove users to move their music collections to Spotify.
"We're excited to announce the following: we're expanding our partnership with Spotify to bring the world's largest music streaming service to our Groove Music Pass customers. Beginning this week, Groove Music Pass customers can easily move all their curated playlists and collections directly into Spotify. Plus, you may be eligible for a 60-day free trial of Spotify Premium," wrote Johnson on the Windows blog.
The blog also added that Groove Music app will no longer allow users to download and stream music from December 31, 2017.
Even though the discontinuation of Groove will create inconvenience for its users, Microsoft has detailed the steps users should follow for a hassle-free transition from Groove Music to Spotify's advanced streaming service.
Transition from Groove to Spotify in a few clicks
Existing Groove customers should launch the latest app's version from the Windows Store or Xbox One. After logging in, users will find a pop-up window from Spotify, which will have detailed instructions on how to login or create a Spotify account.
Existing Spotify customers can log in with their current user credentials, while the new ones would have to create a username and should answer some simple questions to access the app. After signing in, Microsoft will move the music collections and playlists of the users from Groove to Spotify.
Partnering with Microsoft will be undoubtedly a big boost for Spotify. It will drastically increase their user base, and the music library too will get expanded. Microsoft is also working together with Spotify to build a new Windows 10 app and a separate app for Xbox One.
