Xbox Music Gets Gracenote For Cloud-Based Streaming

Gracenote has announced a partnership with Microsoft to bring its service to Xbox Music users. Under the partnership, users will get a cloud-based solution for accessing their music across a variety of devices, opening up streaming possibilities regardless of location or device. In addition to the newly released Xbox One, Xbox 360 owners will also benefit from the technology.

With Gracenote, Xbox Music Pass holders will be able to select the tracks and albums they own and unlock them on the cloud, where the audio will then be accessible to stream from whatever device is preferred. Listed among the applicable gadgets, and in addition to the aforementioned Xbox consoles, the music will be available on Windows 8 and Windows RT, Windows Phone 8, iOS, and Android.

It doesn't matter where the music comes from — it could be tracks from a ripped CD or albums bought through iTunes, for example. The idea is that users won't have to rebuild their music libraries, and beyond that, users will also gain access to Gracenote's metadata for things like recommendations, information, song editing, collection management, and album artwork. The songs and albums are identified using what Gracenote calls "audio fingerprints", and can match tracks from millions of options.

Said Gracenote President Stephen White: "A big frustration for music fans is having to completely rebuild their collections when switching between streaming or download services. Gracenote music recognition and data will make it easy for Xbox Music users to migrate their collections to the cloud without searching, repurchasing or even uploading."