We’ve known for a while now that Google has been planning a foray into music. But, per usual, Google has surprised us again. Because apparently, Google has a proposal out among major record labels right now regarding their future cloud-based digital download store. This cloud-based digital vault for your music would allow you to access your music on any Internet-connected device through either streaming or downloading.
That means your iTunes library isn’t stuck on the MAC in your office. You would store your music on Google’s cloud server, and be able to access it anywhere. Plus, in terms of monetization, Google Music would offer their own “a la carte” digital download store, giving Apple its first game-changing competition since the release of iTunes.
The proposal suggests a $25/yr fee for consumers to store their music collections this way. Google also hopes to be able to let customers stream any song available for sale one time, the whole way through, before limiting them to 30-second clip streams. This was what Lala.com offered before Google acquired them, and would definitely make browsing on Google Music a better experience than iTunes on that feature alone.
It’s exciting, that’s for sure. But it’s also currently in the hands of the madmen at the record industries, who don’t like how things have changed in the last 15 years. So, I’m not holding my breath just yet.