Within the next several months, Google will be rolling out their music store aiming to take some market share from Apple’s iTunes Store.
Google’s music service will be tied to its search engine, and a subscription-based service will be available. Last year, as a first step, Google started linking to partner sites like iLike and Pandora through its search engine which allowed people to stream a song with a single click right on the search results page.
Currently if you search for a song in Google, the first result you will see is a link to play the full song either from iLike or Pandora.
Scott Morrison from the WSJ explained, "The first phase of Google's music service is expected to be a Web store where users can buy and download tracks, music industry insiders said. It will be tied directly to Google's search engine, so that people using Google.com to look for a particular group or song will be served a link to the company's music store…”
Google’s involvement in the music industry is welcomed by music labels that feel Apple is becoming too dominant. Apple accounted for 28% of all music purchased by U.S. consumers in the first quarter, according to NPD Group.
