Microsoft have announced that they are closing the Groove music service down at the end of the year. The option to purchase, stream and download with a Groove Music subscription end December 31st but you will still be able to play locally stored music and music stored in Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud.

Microsoft said:

With the continued advancement of music streaming today, all the world’s music has become easily accessible across a variety of devices, unlocking new ways to discover and experience music. As we continue to listen to what our customers want in their music experience we know that access to the best streaming service, the largest catalog of music, and a variety of subscriptions is top of the list.

Music Pass support in Groove and music purchase in the Windows Store to be discontinued; the Groove Music app will continue to support playback and music management of owned content.

So you will still be able to play music from your own collection stored either locally or in OneDrive on the Windows, iOS and Android apps but you will not be able to buy new music or stream music as part of a Groove music pass subscription. Microsoft are pushing Groove Music Pass subscribers to Spotify which an update to the app as it throws in the towel on another consumer service.

How long before Movies & TV bites the dust?

If you don’t have a Groove Music Pass or haven’t purchased music from the store it doesn’t really affect you, read Microsoft FAQ for more information.

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