Google Music Service to Revolutionize Downloads? Rumored to Launch Next Month

By Elton Jones, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Search giant Google is expected to launch its rumored MP3 download service in November.

Google's music downloading service will combine an MP3 download store with a cloud storage system set up to allow people to store songs remotely and play them back on multiple devices.

A few major record labels have signed on with Google in order to provide content for the service.

The search giant has signed up fourth music major EMI. EMI owns content from the band "Pink Floyd," a group that could bring in many users for Google's service.

Google is currently in serious negotiations with market leader Universal also. Both EMI and Universal combined account for a third of all music worldwide.

Sony Music and Warner Music are also in talks with Google. No final deals have come out of the talks between the companies, though.

Google is also aiming to sign up several worldwide agreements with other music majors. Some music executives believe that the company is most likely to offer Google Music in the U.S. before expanding the offering to other countries, including the U.K.

While speaking at a press conference in Hong Kong, the head of development for Google subsidiary Android Andy Rubin said, "I think we're close," when asked about the official launch.

Rubin also added that the service would have "a little twist – it will have a little Google in it. We won't just be selling 99-cent tracks."

The MP3 cloud storage service is said to mimic Apple's iTunes Match, which scans a user's computer hard drive for all the music stored on it – whether paid for or pirated – and will make those songs available to be listened to legally from the remote services.

Music executives are enthusiastic about the idea since it gives consumers an amnesty for all previous illegal copies or downloads.

Andy Rubin notes the changes that Google is going through: "Google is in the very, very early phases of adding consumer products to our portfolio. The media industry didn’t see us as that. They saw us a search company."