Google is reportedly planning to launch a music download store, which it describes as having “a little twist” to the concept as the search giant continues to challenge Apple and Amazon.
Speaking to technology blog AllThingsD, Android boss Andy Rubin said the upcoming music service will not only have the support of the record labels but “will have a little twist … a little Google in it. It won’t just be selling 99 cent tracks.”
“Google is in the very very early phases of adding consumer products to our portfolio,” he highlighted, going on to suggest that “the media industry didn’t see us as that. They saw us a search company,” Rubin added.
Google already has its Google Music cloud streaming system, launched in beta earlier this year, but so far doesn’t offer users the chance to buy tracks.
Instead, users can upload their existing music to the service and then stream it to their computers and mobile devices.
There have been hints of an upcoming music store but Google was reportedly struggling in negotiations with labels, particularly over their demands to pull search results that linked to sources of pirated content and downloads.
