Xbox Music launches tomorrow for Xbox 360

Xbox Music, Microsoft’s cross-platform, all-in-one music service, will launch tomorrow on Xbox 360, the publisher has announced. Later this month, the service will be launched across Windows 8, Windows RT tablets and PCs, and Windows 8 smartphones.

“The launch of Xbox Music is a milestone in simplifying digital music on every type of device and on a global scale,” said Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business president Don Mattrick. “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.”

The service will launch with a global catalog of over 30 million songs, and allow users to create free streaming music playlists, purchase songs, albums, or a music subscription, and listen to artist-based radio channels. Here’s a full rundown of its offerings:

Free streaming music on Windows 8 and Windows RT. Enjoy on-demand access to tens of millions of songs for free on all Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets and PCs. Discovering and enjoying free music on Windows 8 and Windows RT is as easy as typing an artist or song name and hitting “play” — songs are instantly available to stream and for you to create an unlimited amount of playlists.

Xbox Music Pass. Want unlimited access to the songs and artists you care about, including offline access? Get an Xbox Music Pass for ad-free, unlimited playback of any track in our subscription catalog across your tablet, PC, phone and Xbox 3601 for US$9.99 per month.2 Xbox Music Pass also unlocks unlimited access to tens of thousands of music videos on your Xbox 360.

Xbox Music Store. Want to own the music you love? The Xbox Music Store is a comprehensive MP3 marketplace giving you the opportunity to purchase a single track or entire album on your Windows 8 or Windows RT tablet or PC and Windows Phone 8.

Smart DJ. Creating a new form of artist-based radio, the Smart DJ feature is a quick and dynamic way to personalize your collection, discover new favorites and create ultimate playlists by launching instant mixes based on your favorite artists. With unlimited skips and a view of the full recommended music stream, Smart DJ puts you in control of your Internet radio experience.

Cloud Storage. Available in the coming year, a scan-and-match feature will take you beyond the 30 million tracks globally offered through Xbox Music. It will add all the music you own to your Xbox Music cloud catalog, including music acquired through other services. This means you can add almost any content you have to your personal Xbox Music collection, even if it’s not available in the Xbox Music catalog.

Social Music. Xbox Music will add unique social features in the coming year that let you share your music experiences with friends and family.

Platform Expansion. Xbox Music will become available on other platforms in the coming year.

Xbox Music will be part of the 2012 console update for Xbox 360.