8tracks, the popular platform for user-created music playlists, has joined a small group of selected music apps in Microsoft’s Xbox gaming and set-top system. The app landed in Xbox on Monday, and there will be an official 8tracks announcement later today. 8tracks joins music apps Rhapsody, iHeartRadio, and Slacker Radio on the Xbox platform. It’s an important distribution win for 8tracks, as Xbox has an installed footprint of 48-million units.
Being on Xbox adds new functionality to 8tracks. Xbox listeners can navigate 8tracks with voice commands and Kinect hand gestures.
8tracks founder David Porter shared some interesting metrics with RAIN News. His service enjoys impressive uptake among young users — according to comScore, 48% of 8tracks users are in the 18-24 demographic, the highest percentage (by far) in a cohort of the top 14 music apps in that age group. This metric matches up well with Xbox’s popularity in that demo — according to Porter, 31% of all college students in the U.S. own an Xbox module.
Porter told RAIN that overall listening to 8tracks has grown since we last checked with him. Monthly active users are now measured at 8-million, up from 6.5-million cited earlier this year. The service enjoys a #3 ranking on Apple’s iOS mobile platform for “Internet radio networks,” according to David Porter. The company is in the process of developing a major version update of its iOS and Android apps.