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Tag: Google Music Store

  • Google Music Gets Download Option

    Google Music Gets Download Option

    Google has finally added a feature that Google Music users have been clamoring for since the service launched last year. Google Music users can now download music from from their library. The download option applies both to music that users have uploaded themselves and to music they have purchased from the Google Music store. While uploaded music may be downloaded as often as the user wants, purchased songs may only be downloaded twice.

    The download option can accessed from the web interface or Google’s Music Manager software. Downloading from the web interface is as easy as clicking on the small triangle next to an album’s artwork or a song’s title. You can download entire albums, individual songs, or multiple songs. Users who have used the Music Manager software to upload music to their library should now have a “Download” tab that shows options for downloading music from their library. Google’s support page has more info here.

    Are you excited about the new Google Music feature? Let us know in the comments.

  • Google Music Store To Snag Universal Tracks

    With the launch of the new Google Music Store fast approaching, it looks like Google is close to inking another record label deal to populate the new service.

    According to a Bloomberg report, Google is very close to an agreement with Universal Music Group that would allow Google to sell their artists’ music in their new download store. When the Google Music Store was hinted at back in October, the sources said that 4th-largest record label EMI had already signed on. That secured artists like Coldplay, Pink Floyd, Katy Perry and (most of) Radiohead for the Google Music Store.

    Making a deal with Universal would be a much bigger content grab than EMI – since they are the largest record label in the American music industry. Coming along with Universal would be artists like Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift.

    The report says that the Google/Universal deal could be finalized as early as Wednesday, November 16th. That date coincides with a Google event in Los Angeles where it’s highly speculated that Google will unveil the new Music Store. Invitations to the event were sent out last Friday on 11/11/11 by “Nigel Tufnel.” The invitations simply said “These Go To Eleven.”

    The Google Music Store will work hand in hand with Google Music Beta, allowing for purchased songs to be stored in the cloud and accessed from any enabled device. There have been rumors that the Music Store will be integrated into Google+, allowing users to share songs with friends and preview tracks before purchasing – rumors that this Bloomberg report corroborates.

    Google Music Beta launched as a simple cloud storage service without any sort of music downloading functionality due to the inability of Google and the record labels to work out deals. Since Beta’s launch, the launch of a Music Store seemed inevitable, but the specific “when” and “with what music” questions are finally being answered.

    Apparently, Google is still unable to work things out with Sony and Warner Music Group, the second and third largest labels.

    Last week, deals were reached to break EMI Group in two, and those separate parts be sold to Universal and Sony. According to the WSJ, EMI’s record-music unit will go to Universal and its Music Publishing will so to Sony.

    Hopefully we get more details at the Google event tomorrow. If you’re impatient, however, you can check out these supposed leaked images of the Music Store via the Android Market.

  • Google Music Store Gets Its First Look Via Leaked Screenshots

    Last week, email invitations began popping up to an event scheduled for this Wednesday, November 16th. The invitations simply said “These Go To Eleven” and were sent by “Nigel Tufnel.” This clear Spinal Tap reference has led many to speculate that the event will have to do with the Google Music Store – the long-rumored retail arm of Google’s cloud music service.

    Various sources are said to have confirmed that the event, which will be live streamed at 2 pm PST, does in fact deal with Google Music.

    But Venezuelan Android site TechnoDroidVe claims to have leaked screenshots of the new Google Music store ahead of its suspected launch on November 16th. According to the site, they were able to access the store via the Android Market.

    From the looks of the screenshots, the Google Music Store will play it pretty close to iTunes and Amazon Music by offering tracks for $0.99 to $1.29. There’s also the ability to purchase entire albums, and features for finding similar artists. If the screenshots prove to be correct, then we can expect Google to offer the “Free Song of The Day” to Google Music users. Here are a couple of the shots:

    A Google Music Store has been rumored to be in the works really since the launch of Google Music Beta. The cloud storage service launched without the ability to purchase tracks due to Google’s inability to form agreements with the major record labels. We got word that the launch of the store was imminent back in October, and that fact was later confirmed by Google Mobile SVP Andy Rubin.

    Since then, there have been rumors that Google Music Store will be highly integrated with Google+, allowing users to recommend songs to their friends and those friends be able to preview tracks before purchase.

    I guess we will see how it shakes out on Wednesday. What do you think about a Google Music Store? Is it what Google Music needs? Can it add a fresh dimension to Google+? Let us know in the comments.

  • Google Music Store Spotted In The Wild?

    Here’s more proof of the imminent launch of the Google Music Store, which is Google’s rumored jump into the digital music selling business.

    Apparently, Android users that went to music.google.com from their mobile browsers were greeted with a landing page that suggested they can “shop millions of songs in Android Market.”

    First noticed on German Android site newsondroid, the landing page promoted the Google Music Beta app for Android – touting that you can store up to 20,000 songs in its cloud locker. Just under that, however, we saw the evidence for the fact that Google is coming to the music-selling party.

    As noted by Alexia Tsotsis at TechCrunch, that “shop Android Market” link didn’t work, but was set to redirect to market.android.com/music.

    It looks like someone realized the mistake, because the whole part about shopping millions of songs is no longer a part of that page.

    We first got wind of the upcoming Google Music Store a couple weeks ago, as sources leaked the fact that Google was planning an imminent release. Last week, Google’s Andy Rubin said that Google was “close” to launching a music store and that it “will have a little twist.”

    We also learned that the Google Music Store will probably be worked into Google+, possibly in a way similar to how Spotify works on Facebook. Google+ users will be able to recommend songs to their friends and subscribers, who will then be able to listen to them free of charge one time before making a decision about whether or not to purchase the track.

    It’s thought that Google Music Store will be highly integrated into Google Music Beta, which would make sense. Google Music Beta was supposed to come with the ability to purchase songs, but Google had a problem reaching agreements with the big record labels. Apparently, Google is still having issues with that, as it has been reported that Google Music Store will launch without deals from at least 2 of the major 4 labels.

  • Google Music Store To Play Well With Google+

    It’s looking almost certain that sometime in the near future, Google will be throwing its hat into the ring of online music sales with the Google Music Store.

    And when they do, you can probably expect it to be highly integrated with another young Google product, Google+.

    The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google Music users will be able to recommend songs to their friends and followers, through the Google+ platform. Google+ users would then have the chance to listen to the track one time before deciding if they wanted to purchase it. The mp3s will probably cost in the neighborhood of $0.99.

    There’s no word on how much this would work like Spotify on Facebook, where it would allow Google+ users to see what their friends are listening to in real time. But integrating a music store into Google+ would be good for Google+ and well as the burgeoning music store itself.

    According to sources close with the matter, Google Music Store will launch within the next two weeks, even though it is probable that they will not have the agreements in place to sell music from at least two of the four major record labels. Rumors that surfaced last week hinted that EMI, the fourth largest label, was the only one close to reaching a deal with Google.

    As you probably remember, the inability to reach agreements with the labels affected Google Music Beta’s launch. Prior to its launch, that service was expected to offer the user the ability to buy music. Instead, it launched without that functionality. Google Music Beta, in its current form, is a giant music locker in the cloud, capable of giving users access to all of their music that they have uploaded themselves.

    But it’s no stretch to imagine a situation where the Google Music Store is linked directly to a user’s Google Music account to provide seamless transfer of purchased songs to their locker.

    Last week, Google SVP of Mobile Any Rubin said that they were close to launching the Google Music Store. He also said that it would have a little “twist” to it, that it would “have a little Google in it, it won’t just be selling 99 cent tracks.”

    Could deep Google+ integration be part of that Google twist?

  • Google Music Store In The Works?

    It looks like Google might jump into the music sales business, as people familiar with the matter say that Google is planning on opening an online music store in the near future.

    Of course, this would put them in direct competition with Apple’s iTunes store as well as Amazon.

    According to the WSJ, Google might have to launch the service without having reached licensing agreements with the top three record labels. Apparently, the only label that Google is close to reaching a deal with to license their catalog in EMI, which is owned by CitiGroup. EMI is the 4th largest label and houses artists like Coldplay, Katy Perry, Pink Floyd and The Decemberists.

    A few months ago, Google launched Google Music Beta – a cloud storage platform for all of your music. You don’t purchase new music on Music Beta, instead you upload the music you already own to the service and it allows you to listen to it anywhere, from any enabled device. It has some pretty awesome features like caching, which allows you to play back songs you’ve recently listened to even when offline. It also feature a Pandora-like function that builds playlists based on certain starter tracks. Apple tried this type of thing with the “Genius” feature on iTunes.

    But Google had problems with gaining licensing agreements from the major record labels, which is why Music Beta launched without a music store.

    If Google launches a music store, it will no doubt work alongside Google Music.

    If this comes to fruition, Google will be entering a competitive area of cloud-centered music. Apple just launched iOS 5 with the iCloud, matching their ability to sell tracks from all the major labels with the ability to put it all in the cloud. Apple also offers a premium service, iTunes Match, that allows users to listen to all of their music, at any time, without having to manually upload each individual track to the cloud locker.

    And of course you have Amazon, which introduced their cloud player back in March.

    Do you think a Google Music Store could be successful? Let us know in the comments.