Google has taken the wraps off its highly anticipated music service, Google Music.
Announced yesterday, the search giant says the service is the broader evolution of Music Beta which was launched in May last year.
Music Beta allowed users to upload their music to the cloud, in order to stream it any time.
Senior VP of Mobile at Google, Andy Rubin, says Google Music is about discovering, purchasing, sharing and enjoying digital music in new, innovative and personalised ways.
“We automatically sync your entire music library - both purchases and uploads - across all your devices so you don't have to worry about cables, file transfers or running out of storage space,” says Rubin.
A new Google music store has also been added to the Android Market, which is fully integrated with Google Music.
Google has been looking to enter the music space for some time, and its efforts have been hampered by breakdowns in negotiations with record companies over licensing agreements.
The digital music space has been dominated by Apple's iTunes Music Store since its launch in 2003. The service sells songs and albums on a download basis.
Google will have to compete with Apple and Amazon for the music download market. Facebook's recent updates have seen the addition of social music services such as Spotify, embedded in the social network.
This week, Apple also unveiled its cloud music service iTunes Match. Connected to iCloud, the paid service scans a user's music library and then matches that library to songs on its own servers, uploading songs one doesn't have.
Offering an alternative
Comparisons with Apple's iTunes are inevitable, but World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says competing with iTunes is not the point of Google Music.
“It's partly about being an alternative to iTunes, but it's mainly about leveraging the search power held by Google,” says Goldstuck.
“Aside from iTunes users, most people looking for music would start with a Google search. If Google can make an effective link between such searches and music purchasing behaviour, it can be a game changer.”
Goldstuck, however, notes that history has proven that simply because it's Google, doesn't mean it will automatically change the game.
“It all lies in the seamlessness and appeal of the implementation.
“Google already has the biggest music search tool in the world. It's called YouTube. If they can't strike a balance between paid-for audio tracks and free music - with video, yet - on YouTube, they will probably be disappointed in the outcome.”
Leveraging services
According to Google, the store has over 13 million songs from artists on Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI and Merlin, as well as over 1 000 independent labels, including Merge Records, Warp Records, Matador Records, XL Recordings and Naxos.
“You can purchase individual songs or entire albums right from your computer or your Android device and they'll be added instantly to your Google Music library, and accessible anywhere,” says Rubin.
Users can also share purchased songs via Google+. According to Rubin, the service is launching with a variety of free tracks to choose from, including exclusive singles from The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Busta Rhymes, Shakira, Pearl Jam and the Dave Matthews Band.
Goldstuck says the key question is whether Google+ makes it easier to find and share music.
“The vehicle best geared for that, Hangouts, is clunky and confusing. However, so is iTunes. But we don't yet get the sense of a cohesive ecosystem from Google Music, as one has with iTunes.
“However, numerous music fans are desperate for an alternative, and that is where Google has a foot in the door already.”
Google Music includes an artist hub feature for artists with the necessary rights to distribute their own music on the platform.
The music service is currently only available in the US, but Google says it will release the music store to Android Market on devices running Android 2.2 and above in the next few days.
In terms of local availability, Goldstuck says: “There is little holding back availability in SA, aside from the willingness of Google to engage with the local industry, and the local industry to engage with digital. Oops.
“Look out for numerous guides on how to get past the US restriction on Google Music.”
In perspective
According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) Digital Music Report 2011, there are over 400 licensed digital music services worldwide.
The trade value of the global digital music market is estimated to be in the region of $4.6 billion - reflecting an over 1 000% increase in value since 2004.
The IFPI says despite efforts by the music industry to develop legitimate digital music businesses, piracy continues to erode industry revenues, hitting jobs, investment in new music and consumer choice.
IFPI says 1.2 million jobs are projected to be lost in the European creative industries due to piracy by 2015. There has also reportedly been a 31% decline in the value of the global recorded music industry between 2004 and 2010.
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