Google debuted its own streaming music service at its I/O developer conference Today morning. The service dubbed “Music Beta by Google,†will act as a “digital locker,†where users are able to store their music in the cloud instead of on their local hard drives or mobile devices.
After uploading your existing music library to a remote server, you’ll be able to stream your music to your Android phone or web-connected PC. As long as you’re connected to the internet, you’ll be able to access your music wherever you go. You’ll be able to add up to 20k songs, and it’s free while its in beta mode.
“We’ve been in negotiations with the industry for a different set of features, with mixed results,†she told Billboard the night before the announcement was made. “[But] a couple of major labels were less focused on innovation and more on demanding unreasonable and unsustainable business terms.â€
According to sources familiar with the matter, Google had hoped to let users “beam†their digital music collections into a cloud-based locker system by recognizing the files and mirroring them in the cloud. Google has a reputation for getting what it wants, but instead, due to a breakdown in negotiations with major labels Sony Music and Universal Music Group, Music Beta by Google reportedly lacks label licensing for its Music Beta service.
As we posted before, he service is currently invite only, with priority given to those attending Google I/O as well as those who own Motorola’s Xoom tablet. Registration can be found at Google.music.com.
