Its no surprise Google is trying to compete with Apple in the cloud music space with Apple’s ITunes paving the way. Google Music is a cloud based music service that allows you to store up to 20,000 of your favorite music tracks on Google servers. Google Music gives you the ability to stream your music to any number of supported devices from Google TV, Android devices and Desktops.
Songs can now be purchased directly from the Android Market as well. Google will make recommendations to you based on your music collection you’ve uploaded, all songs have 90-second previews, and purchased songs are automatically added to your online collection and downloaded to the device you use to purchase the songs. Google will offer one free song each day, and there will be a weekly “spotlight” artist with backstories, bios, photos and videos.
Google+ integration is onboard, and purchased tracks you recommend and share will be able to be played by your friends in their entirety—no 90-second preview. It’s not unlimited, however: shared songs can be played once for free.
The service features some exclusive content from a handful of popular bands. Unreleased tracks and live albums from the Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Busta Rhymes, Shakira, Pearl Jam, and Dave Matthews Band are available now for free.
Google Music also has a new feature for independent artists called Artist Hub. Artists can build their own artist pages, upload their music, and sell their songs by setting their own prices. Google takes a 30% cut of every sale, and there’s a one-time $25 setup fee for each artist page. Furthermore, songs can be linked to and sold directly from artists’ YouTube pages.
