One of my favourite apps available on Windows 8.1 OS is the Xbox music. This service was introduced with Windows 8 at launch in 2012 but for some reasons, it was not available to Nigerian card holders. However, the gates have now been flung open to just about anyone that cares.

The business model for this music service from Microsoft can be summarized as follows;

• Unlimited Music Streaming
• Unlimited Music Downloads
• Stream with your Android and iOS devices
• Access to over 30 million songs. Believe me, even very old school Nigerian tracks from Cloud 7, Bongos Ikwue & Sonny Okosuns are available.
• All for a monthly fee of US$9.99 (N1650), which can be paid for using your regular Naira denominated Visa/Mastercard cards.
• You even get this service free for a whole month. You get charged only from the second month

Too good to be true? Okay, there are caveats;

• Unless you make an outright purchase of a track, usually in MP3 format for US$0.99 per track, songs downloaded with your subscription (called Xbox Music Pass) are usually in encrypted (DRM) WMA format. The tracks are not playable elsewhere but only on PCs that you are signed into with your Xbox Music credentials.
• You can not download music using Xbox Music Android and iOS apps.
• The Android and iOS apps are still not available in Nigeria but there are workarounds.

Even with these limitations, i believe it is still worth the fees being charged. Moreso, i am actively working on ways to circumvent the restrictions Microsoft has put in place. I have some ideas already…