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Microsoft may have its groove back but it's binned 'Groove'

Ghost-of-Zune music subscription service retired, users shunted to Spotify

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's new book says the company has its groove back, yet the company has also decided to kill off the Zune-zombie by sending music subscription service "Groove" to its doom.

Less than a week after shipping an update to Groove's Android client, Redmond has taken Groove for that long drive in the country.

As it did two years ago, when Zune was Grooved, Microsoft has promised that users running the Groove Music app will still be able to access content they own.

The Groove Music Pass cloud service will cease operating by the end of this year, with users encouraged to migrate their playlists to Spotify. There's also a free trial of Spotify Premium.

As of December 31 Microsoft says “the Groove Music app will no longer offer the option to stream, purchase, and download music”.

For now, at least, the Groove app will still get updates.

Users who have pre-paid for a year of Groove Music Pass will get pro-rated refunds after February 2018, Microsoft explains in this FAQ. ®

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