Microsoft has quietly pulled the plug on one of Windows Media Player's oldest features. If you've tried ripping a CD recently and found yourself staring at "Unknown Album" with blank cover art, you're not alone. Around December 2025, Microsoft shut down the servers that powered Windows Media Player's CD identification service—and they did it without any official announcement.
The impact is immediate and permanent. According to reports on Microsoft Community and confirmed by The Register, the service that connected to musicmatch-ssl.xboxlive.com has been completely shut down. This affects both the legacy Windows Media Player and the modern Media Player app in Windows 11. Every CD you insert now shows up as nameless tracks with no artwork.
Tom's Hardware tested multiple CDs and confirmed the same result: the "Find Album Information" feature is completely dead. When Microsoft PR was asked about whether this was intentional, they offered no response.
The timing couldn't be worse. Physical media is experiencing a genuine resurgence as consumers grow tired of streaming services removing content overnight. CD and vinyl sales are climbing, yet Microsoft chose this moment to abandon users who still value their physical collections. It seems Microsoft simply doesn't care about CD users anymore.
Why "Free" Metadata Databases Aren't Good Enough
With Windows Media Player out of the picture, many users turn to free CD ripping software that relies on community databases like freedb or GnuDb. While these cost nothing, they come with serious limitations:
User-Submitted Errors: Community databases are filled with typos ("The Beatles" as "Beetles"), inconsistent formatting ("01" vs "Track 1"), and artist names that vary wildly between albums.
Missing or Poor Artwork: Free databases typically lack high-resolution album covers or provide tiny, pixelated images that look terrible on modern 4K displays.
Limited Coverage: Obscure releases, international variants, and newer albums are often completely missing from community databases.
If you're investing time to digitize your music collection properly, these inconsistencies quickly become frustrating. You deserve better than manually fixing metadata errors for every album.
The Solution: Nero CD Ripper with Gracenote®
While Microsoft abandoned CD users, Nero didn't. Nero CD Ripper is a audio CD ripping software for Windows that helps you digitize your music with accurate album covers, reliable metadata, and high-quality audio extraction.
Download Nero CD Ripper from the Microsoft Store👉 Nero CD Ripper or visit Nero's official website.
After inserting a CD, Nero CD Ripper automatically retrieves album artwork, artist, track titles, and album information from Gracenote, so your music library looks complete and well organized.*
Built on decades of Nero Burning ROM disc technology, Nero CD Ripper uses refined CD reading methods designed to reduce read-time jitter and preserve high-fidelity audio quality during extraction.
If you have Audio CD image files in Nero's NRG format, you can also rip tracks directly from these image files.*
The key difference is Gracenote technology. Unlike community databases that guess based on track length, Gracenote uses digital fingerprinting technology to analyze your CD's actual audio signature. This delivers 100% accurate identification, even for obscure releases or regional variants.
Professional Album Artwork: Unlike Windows Media Player's old 200×200 pixel covers, Nero retrieves sharp, high-resolution artwork that looks great on 4K monitors, smartphones, and large TV displays.
Key Features:
Rip audio CDs to digital audio files
Automatically retrieve album covers and metadata from Gracenote*
Convert audio CDs to MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, and OGG formats
Save audio information to audio files
Generate playlists automatically
Convert to Apple-compatible AAC
Rip audio tracks directly from NRG Audio CD image files*
* Subscription required for selected features.
Quick Guide: Rescue Your CD Collection Now
Getting started with Nero CD Ripper is straightforward:
Step 1: Download Nero CD Ripper from the Microsoft Store: Nero CD Ripper or visit Nero's official website.
Step 2: Install Nero CD Ripper on your Windows PC.
Step 3: Insert your audio CD. Gracenote automatically detects and identifies the album, pulling in all metadata and artwork.
Step 4: Choose your format and rip. For archiving, select FLAC to maintain perfect audio quality. For portable devices, choose MP3 or AAC for better compatibility.
Conclusion
Microsoft gave up on CD users at the worst possible time. As physical media experiences a renaissance, Microsoft's solution was to simply remove the tools entirely—no warning, no replacement, no explanation. While Microsoft abandoned these users, Nero continued to invest in CD ripping technology because they understand that some users still value their physical music collections.
But your CD collection doesn't have to become a digital wasteland of "Unknown Album" entries. Nero CD Ripper with Gracenote technology delivers accurate metadata, professional album artwork, and high-quality audio extraction—everything Microsoft took away.
Don't let your music collection fall into digital obscurity. Download Nero CD Ripper from the Microsoft Store (Nero CD Ripper) or visit Nero's official website to start building the organized, professional music library you deserve.
