The countdown is underway to the launch of a major global play for music by the world’s largest online media property. At the I/O developer conference there was intensive talk of the long awaited Google music platform. More on what to expect as the testing goes mainstream…
Google’s long-awaited music service will take the form of a cloud-based online storage locker for users, from where they can stream and download files to Internet connected devices.
Proving unable to come to an agreement with all the major labels for the music service it originally wanted, Google is launching the service without any licensing deals, in the same way Amazon launched its ‘Cloud Drive’ without backing from labels.
Called Music Beta by Google, the service will allow users to upload their music library to a personal online storage locker, from where they can stream and download files from Internet connected devices.
Driving the launch is the completion of Google’s new music player Android app, that can play any music stored on Android devices. However, the app can’t access music from the cloud unless users are part of the beta.
The service will initially only be available on a limited, invite-only basis to US users. Those wanting to use the service will have to request an invite at google.music.com, with priority given to those with the Motorola Xoom tablet and to attendees of yesterday’s I/O conference.
Additionally, Google is limiting the number of songs that can be uploaded to the music locker to 20,000. The service is free while in beta, and the company would not comment on what future pricing options it may have planned.
Other features of Music Beta by Google include:
— Any Web-connected device with a browser or supporting Flash can stream music from the locker. Requires Android-powered devices with the app installed to download and play cached streams.
— Users who sign up for the locker service will get free music added, similar to how some mp3 players ship with sample tracks. Google negotiated rights to this free music with various rightsholders.
— All music available to each device is available in a single view, meaning users won’t see one list for music stored native on the device and another list of music stored in the locker.
— Audio quality for streaming files can be as high as 320kbps if the device and network supports it.
— Optimized for Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) but any Android device version 2.2 or above can support it.
The announcement follows Amazon’s decision to let consumers store digital music on its servers and stream the tracks to computers and Android smartphones.
Amazon’s service relies on cloud computing, which delivers songs over the Internet rather than keeping them on local hard drives.
That differs from the approach of Apple’s iTunes, the world’s biggest music seller, which offers downloadable tracks.
Google is moving into new forms of entertainment to diversify its revenue, boost ad sales and keep users on its sites for longer.
