Microsoft recently announced that Xbox Music, its new "all-in-one music service" that enables users to listen to on the go and on any device they want, is included in a rolling update to Xbox LIVE. The update will be pushed out on Tuesday, Oct. 16, and will be expanded post the Windows 8 launch, which is scheduled for later this month.

Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business of Marketing and Strategy, said there are a lot of services available that perform well. However, no service creates a unified and simple experience.

"There are a lot of individual services that do a good job, but today there isn't a service which can pull together the benefits of download-to-own, music subscription, or free streaming services. With Xbox Music, what we wanted to do is bring all of that value in one simple, easy-to-use service, then build some additional value on top - make it really beautiful, and have it work across all of your devices. We've been able to simplify the music experience in a really powerful way," stated Mehdi.

Xbox Music's features include listening to music for free (like Spotify), the ability to create playlists and mixes (like iTunes), creating artist radio stations with their music, creating playlists with unlimited skipping via Smart DJ, and buying music.

Mehdi revealed Windows 8 is the only operating system that can do free streaming on a tablet due to rights Microsoft has secured. He also teased a feature where physical and digital music libraries can be collated, bringing fragmented music libraries together.

"I think what we've seen over the past several years is that discovering, managing and consuming music has gotten to be hard work. Our aspirations for Xbox Music are big - to address the multiple ways that people are listening to music, then put those all in one easy-to-use and beautifully curated place," said Scott Porter, Microsoft's Principal Program Manager for Xbox Music.

Unlike non-subscription Spotify users, streaming music is ad-free and works across PCs and tablets on Xbox Music. Passes for unlimited streaming cost $9.99 a month and music can also be sent to the cloud. Additionally, Windows Phone 8 devices and Xbox 360 will see music instantly appear when signed in, including custom playlists.