Following the recent announcement from Apple to close Beats Music, Microsoft is also pulling the plug off its own music service called Zune.

Microsoft quietly pulled the plug off the Zune services on Nov. 15. Microsoft initially announced in September that it will eventually shut down the Zune services

Like Us on Facebook

As replacement to the Zune Music service, Microsoft is currently promoting the Groove Music platform. The company said any remaining Zune subscribers will be migrated into the Groove music platform now that the latter is no longer in operation. For Zune subscribers who do not want to migrate to the Groove Music platform, they have the option to receive a prorated refund of their subscription fee.

For those who still owns a Zune MP3 player, the device will not be completely useless. It can still function as an MP3 player, but it will no longer support online music streaming, according to BBC.

Microsoft launched the Zune Music service in 2006 as a rival to the Apple iPod and iTunes. Despite massive promotional stints and integration into Windows devices, the Zune service was not able to capitalize in the market. Microsoft decided to cease integrating the service into its hardware in 2011. The manufacture of Zune devices were also discontinued on the same year.

According to Mashable, although Microsoft stopped the manufacture of Zune MP3 devices and related hardware in 2011, the company continued to maintain the Zune online services.

It seems that several tech giants are starting to migrate their music services into newer platforms. Apple recently announced that the Beats Music brand will be taken down and its services will be integrated into Apple Music. The on-demand streaming service Rdio was partially bought by Pandora for $75 million. Rdio announced that it will file for bankruptcy.

The recent closure of three music services have led many analysts to believe that Microsoft, Apple and Pandora are planning for something big for the online streaming industry before the end of the year.

TagsZune, Microsoft Zune, Zune Online, Zune Music, Zune services, Groove music, Beats Music, Zune MP3 player, Apple music, Zune MP3 devices