“Millions” of songs To combat the powerful Spotify, which proved that streaming music was a viable business model (and revolutionized music distribution), Google had to accumulate a huge library of tracks to stream in Google Play Music All Access. Although the company did not give a precise figure, it revealed that “millions” of tracks would be available for reading via the service. And, after signing licensing agreements with major publishers such as Sony, Universal and Warner, the best artists, including all those of Justin Bieber at Cheatahs, will be available for streaming. “It’s a radio without rules,” said Chris Yerga, Google’s technical director. ‘It’s as’ leanback’ as you like or as interactive as you like.’ The service will support user curated playlists, and can also be used in conjunction with the Google Music locker to access your own personal library of tracks that have been uploaded to Google cloud services. Their will also be a “Radio” feature, mixing together a playlist of songs based on user-set parameters such as genre or favourite artist, and an “Explore” feature that will offer music recommendations based on your taste. Compatible devices As you might expect, Google Play Music All Access will be available to users of Google’s Android operating system on tablets and smartphones, as well as through web browsers on PC and Mac. It is not yet clear whether Google will offer app versions of the service to Apple’s iOS devices, Windows Phone or BlackBerry 10 platforms. price Google’s streaming service will cost $9.99 per month (approximately $5.60), which will give unlimited access to the library’s millions of songs on all compatible devices. Those who sign up for the service before June 30 will receive a reduced monthly rate of $7.99, Google’s attempt to woo early adopters away from rival Spotify, whose Premium service costs $9.99. However, no pricing has been revealed outside the United States, but we imagine that it is simply a matter of exchanging these “$” signs for “$” signs. We still have to pay a little more, don’t we? It’s our lot in life. Free trial, but no advertising-funded “Freemium” option New Google Play Music All Access users get a free 30-day trial with the service, allowing them to test all its features before deciding whether to sign up with a subscription. However, unlike Spotify, once everything is in place, you have to shell out money to keep listening – Google won’t offer an ad-supported option for freeloaders. For a new service such as Google Play Music All Access, an ad-supported “freemium” offer is both a blessing and a curse, allowing you to extend the reach of your service and appeal to more potential customers. However, there are also problems: why pay the cow when you can have milk for free? Spotify, for example, has more than 24 million users, but only millions of them pay to play. launching Google Play Music All Access is available in the United States and will soon be rolled out in more countries. No word yet on a UK launch, but we’ll let you know.
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