HOT TAKE: Windows phone propped up window services like Groove

With the end of Groove I was thinking about why I had originally signed up for it and it is because I had a Windows phone (the Lumia 520) at the time and it was my only option. I continued to use it because I pay yearly and I was locked in.

So my hot take is that Groove only lasted this long because of all the former windows phone users like my self that signed up and never bothered to switch to another service.

Conversation 10 comments

  • sandeepm

    24 November, 2017 - 12:00 am

    <p>Makes perfect sense… why on earth would someone subscribe for a music streaming service on a desk computer. I thought the same, that it made perfect sense. Next in line will be Bing Maps, which is only money transferred by Microsoft to Here. Microsoft is losing and they would rather that we Windows Phone users be the losers. We are big losers, of course, to have put our faith in Windows. LOL. They probably wanted to scrap Groove all together, unfortunately it is deeply entwined in the OS, so it will be a long wait, since Windows will likely be around for another 5 to 10 years.</p>

    • jimchamplin

      Premium Member
      28 November, 2017 - 9:24 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#220311"><em>In reply to sandeepm:</em></a></blockquote><p>Why <em>wouldn't</em> you use a music subscription service on a desktop?</p>

    • mebby

      29 November, 2017 - 6:33 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#220311"><em>In reply to sandeepm:</em></a></blockquote><p>I use (ok used) Groove on my desktop while I worked and my Surface and iPhone at other times. Before, used on my Lumia 1520 and 950XL. </p><p><br></p><p>I hated how MS dumped Groove by saying it was bonus because I could move to Spotify. I could have moved to Spotify before.&nbsp;But did not.&nbsp;Now I am trying another (non-Spotify) music service.</p>

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    24 November, 2017 - 3:06 am

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  • Brad Sams

    Premium Member
    28 November, 2017 - 10:11 pm

    <p>Sorta, Groove had to exist becuase without it Windows Mobile had no streaming music service out of the box which every other platform offered.</p>

  • Paul Thurrott

    Premium Member
    29 November, 2017 - 8:16 am

    <p>Interesting. I think it's fairer to say that both were late-to-market turkeys that were involved in the same death spiral. :)</p>

    • Edward Grego

      29 November, 2017 - 10:36 am

      <blockquote><a href="#222509"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p>Paul, "late to market" really doesn't matter, it has no affect on the overall sales success of an anything. As an example, take a look at the iPhone, or the Apple Watch. What matters is the quality, usability and the trust of the consumer, Microsoft has been failing miserably in all 3 of those categories since the first WP os debacle round 2010. Not too mention, Groove is the dumbest name ever, what about simply "Music", or better yet, "Microsoft Music"? </p><p>What really sucks is, for a time, it was a superior platform, it would play almost any audio lossless file you threw at it, then, just like with the WP platform, they started changing everything. When I left Groove, it had become unstable and lacked functionality from the previous versions. In short, in true MS fashion, they screwed up another once great platform.</p><p>Very recently I sold me SB and SP3 and bought a MacBook Pro. I am completely immersed in Apple eco and I have to say, it's pretty damn great! I hope, and I know many more on your site do as well, that you and Brad start writing more about Apple because we are not in the MS world any longer. </p>

  • ABT

    29 November, 2017 - 10:21 am

    <p>I was a Zune music subscriber for a long time and followed the iterations through "xbox music pass" or whatever they called it after that. I gave up with the transition to Groove, as Microsoft's music service had become a shadow of it's predecessors. It's possible that like you said, that Groove was also being "propped up" by old Zune holdouts who were hoping (against sensibility) that MS would bring back the features that made the Zune experience great. After enough disappointment, even the most optomistic fans get beat down and move on.</p><p><br></p><p>My old Zunes and accessories have all been sold on Amazon or Ebay and I only use an old windows for for the Fitbit GPS tracker and occasional music playback from the micro SD card. If MS had done more than barely maintaining the ecosystem, I'd still be shelling out money for all of the services and devices. Meh, if not nearly as elegant, Android works well enough, and I have access a real app store.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

  • Jules Wombat

    29 November, 2017 - 12:07 pm

    <p>The Zune Windows Phone Client on WP7, was better than current Groove. Live Tiles showed prospective artists whilst not playing, which was a nice feature to entice its use. </p>

  • AnOldAmigaUser

    Premium Member
    29 November, 2017 - 6:10 pm

    <p>It was simple economics for me.</p><p><br></p><p>I had signed up for the Zune music pass after a few months of buying music for my daughter's iPod. The five device service let me keep two teenagers in music for $149/year, and that included 10 songs/month as keepers (which was a $118.80 value in iTunes before the price hike.) Their musical tastes tend to change over time, so subscription/streaming services make way more sense that purchases.</p><p><br></p><p>Once Spotify came out with the family subscription, that made more sense, so I switched.</p><p><br></p><p>Windows phone may have prolonged the service a bit, but it probably had more to do with contracts they had with the music companies and when they expired.</p>

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