In a move that result in more competition in an already highly competitive market, sources close to the company say that Google is planning to launch a streaming music service at its developer-focused I/O event this week. Rumor has it that the company has the top 3 music labels onboard, including Warner Music Group, Universal Music, and Sony.
Google would already face competition from established music streaming services like Rdio, Spotify, Deezer, MOG, and Pandora. It is currently unclear if Google would be an all-you-can-eat service such as Rdio, or a streaming radio service such as Pandora. There is no word yet on pricing, which countries will get the service, or even which mobile platforms could be initially supported.
Google sells digital music already in the Google Play store, but its offering is not as popular with consumers as iTunes and Amazon. YouTube has been Google’s most successful way for people to access music. Google does not charge for the music shown on YouTube, instead showing ads and giving some of the profits to the record labels.
The streaming music service has been a tough market to crack, with services such as Spotify having huge net losses, while getting large investments from companies like Goldman Sachs.
