Google Music Blowout Sale – Hottest Tracks and Albums Over 50% Off!

While this isn’t exactly the 10 cent app sale were enjoying a few days ago, Google Music is having a blowout sale of their own, offering up over ten million tracks and/or entire albums from some of the hottest artists in the biz right now, for a little over 50% off. Artists range anywhere from Drake, Jay-Z, to Nirvana and oldies like The Police. Not sure how long these artists will be discounted (limited time offer) so you’d better hurry if you love great music and more importantly, like getting it legally.
[Google Music Blowout Sale]

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Google Music expands to Google TV

You get no points for seeing this one coming. The new music purchasing and streaming options unveiled in the Google Music presentation are already available to all Android users in the US, and now they’re rolling out to Google TV as well. Both the Android Market and Google’s official Music app have been updated, allowing purchasing, streaming and sharing of individual tracks and albums through Google TV. The additional functionality should help Google TV to further compete with Apple TV, even if both are somewhat lacking in the product name department.

According to the official screenshot, the interface for Google Music has an extra coat of polish, allowing it to easily be used from couch-standard distance. All the features of the smartphone and web player are present, including the nifty new “pin” option, which automatically keeps selected songs, albums or playlists synced across all your Android devices. Between the Google Music update and an upgrade to Honeycomb, not to mention the long-awaited addition of Android Market access, Google TV is starting to become the all-in-one media hub it set out to be last year.
Google is promising constant updates both to the Google TV platform and the Google Music app and service. The former could definitely use it: with Logitech bowing out of Google TV altogether, the future of the system relies on Sony, and perhaps next year, LG as well. With Google integrating so many different media sources, here’s hoping it becomes a much more viable option going forward.

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Google Music App v4.0 now in Android Market, free streaming for all

Google Music Beta has left the building and will now just be called — take a guess — Google Music. It has left beta but the big news here is it will actually be free for everyone and users can store and stream up to 20,000 high quality 320 kbps audio files with Google Music — completely for free.

The brand new Google Music v4.0 application has just hit the market and is available right now. You can get the update and enjoy all the free streaming offered by Google right now. The music webstore is also available by clicking here or going to market.android.com/music — feel free to try the “Free Song of the Day”. This is very similar to the version leaked a few weeks back, but newer is always better right?
 For now the web market and the application are up and live but the actual music integration into the Android Market on mobile devices hasn’t landed yet. We’ll be sure to update everyone as soon as that hits so you can start buying and enjoying the millions of songs right from your Android devices.
Rock on!
Google Music
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Google Music includes free full track sharing via Google+

Google’s new Music endeavor is certainly exciting, and not just because it’s yet another digital music store. Google is the first company to offer a free preview of your purchased music to your contacts on Google+. Your friends can listen to one full play of any song or album you purchase.

All this is in addition to the considerable social features built in to Google Music, by way of Google+. You can recommend songs or albums to individual friends or Circles, who can see an instant link to the relevent music on the Android Market or the Google Music web site. Naturally all your music is instantly added to your personal digital locker, available for unlimited downloads or pins at any time.
This functionality should be showing up in the brand new Google Music app, as well as the web versions of Google Music and Google+. You can purchase music with the same credit card that’s attached to your Android Market account, and T-Mobile customers will be able to add music to their phone bills soon.

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Google Music unveiled with Android Market integration, stays free

In a creatively-teased event in Los Angeles this afternoon, Google finally pulled the wraps off its long-awaited music store. Hundreds of tech press were crammed into Mr. Brainwash Studio, where the details were finally hammered out. Google has been testing the streaming music waters for since May with its Google Music Beta program, but today it comes to everybody in the country.

Streaming and Syncing
Google Music is now open to everyone in the United States. The uploading and streaming properties are intact: you can upload up to 20,000 songs to Google, completely free, and stream it to any device. Users can upload their music selectively using the Google Music desktop application from Windows, Linux or Mac. The Google Music app for Android, updated today, will tie into users’ digital locker saved on Google’s servers. You can stream the music to unlimited Android devices and access it from a desktop browser. An interesting new feature is a pin manager: simply pin songs or albums to your device to save a local copy, to make sure you can get to it even without a connection.
Android/Market integration
As expected, Music has been added to the Android Market along with Movies and Books. Google is offering “millions of songs” in the updated version of the Market, including suggestions based on your current music collection. Once a song or album is added it goes straight into your digital locker – no download necessary, unless you want it. All songs get a free 90-second preview, and come in at a high-quality 320kbps files.
The Market also gets some interesting social features, as your Google+ contacts can recommend music, which you can then check out. Friends will receive one free full play of recommended music that has been shared, a feature that’s completely new to the music industry.

The Music store is live at the web version of the Android Market, and will be rolling out to Android devices in the next few days.
Sony Music, Universal, and EMI have all signed up for the service – so far, Warner Music is not on board. Numerous independent labels are also debuting with Google Music. Google is actively pursuing more music partnerships. Some exclusive Google Music content includes six as-yet-unreleased Rolling Stones concert, as well as Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam and Shakira. Busta Rhymes’ new album will be available only on Google Music, and the first track is a free download right now.

Independent Artists
Independent artists can share their music through the Artist Hub, which publishes music directly to the Android Market. Artists can set their own prices (even free!) and establish their own band profiles on the Google Music service. Artists get 70% of the revenue from their songs with no album or track fees, and they can sell music against their YouTube videos.
T-Mobile integration
T-Mobile customers will be able to pay for new music through their phone bill, just like they can with apps. The functionality hasn’t been added just yet, but should be coming very soon. T-Mobile will aslo be giving their customers free exclusive content from Drake, Maroon 5, Busta Rhymes and others through the end of the year.
Google didn’t mention pricing, but a quick look at the web version of the Android Market shows most individual tracks at 99 cents, with some featured albums as an all or nothing purchase.
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T-Mobile joins the Google Music Event Wednesday, Live music and more

We’ve just learned that a few invites are going around to join what appears to be an after-party of the Google Music event set for Wednesday. As if the title “These Go to Eleven” from Spinal Tap didn’t give anything away, the invite from T-Mobile does. Mentioning live performances from Drake, Maroon 5, Busta Rhymes and more. If you weren’t convinced this was a musical event, you should be now.

This instantly makes me wonder a few things. Why would T-Mobile be so involved with a Google Music event, wouldn’t that be all Google? Unless maybe they are pushing it to T-Mobile devices first but I can’t see that happening when this should be a Android wide release. Google did this with Google Wallet, so it’s possible, but doubtful. Second if you look the event is actually being pushed by BNC and not T-Mobile. I was immediately hoping that Google would announce their new Google Music Store that we saw earlier today, and then T-Mobile would pop on stage and show off the T-Mobile Galaxy Nexus. Sadly that doesn’t appear to be the case. We can dream right?
While many are thinking we may see some sort of product announcement from T-Mobile, I don’t think this is the case. Instead T-Mobile appears to be sponsoring the after party. Either way we now know this is indeed an event all about music and the Google Music Store is about to get very real. Stay tuned for more details as we’ll have all the information as the event unfolds.

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Google Music Store Market screenshots leak, Free song of the Day and more

Users in the world of Android have been waiting for a full on music solution for what seems like ages, but come this Wednesday that might be exactly what we all finally get. We’ve just received some leaked screenshots showing a Google Music store in the Android Market, just like Movies and Books. The screenshots appear to be an early build or at least similar to what we can expect Google to announce at the “These Go to Eleven” press event this Wednesday.

Looking at the provided screenshots the store might not be fully functional yet but most likely it will be soon, or even launch on Wednesday to go along with the Google event. A few things worth nothing is the Free Song of the Day screenshots. It appears they’ll be taking a similar approach as Amazon has done with Apps for Music in hopes to boost action. This could also be an amazing way for new artists to be seen by the millions and millions of Android phone users. We are also seeing a recommended artist list as well as similar artists. So far I really like what we’ve just seen.
Earlier we heard a few reports that Google was struggling to get all record labels on board, just as iTunes did during the early stages and that it will launch without all four major record labels. Sony and Warner being two big ones missing. Glancing over the screenshots Google might have actually secured deals with all four. Giving the Google Music store an even better position to succeed. Looking at the screenshots we see plenty of Shakira who is signed to Sony (among others), and even Green Day who is signed with Reprise, a subsidiary of Warner Music. Maybe these deals are still being worked out, and the possibility of those song not being available from Sony or Warner is still possible until a deal is made. We won’t know until Google Music is officially launched. Stay tuned on Wednesday for full details.
[via Androinica]

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Google Music set to launch without Sony or Warner songs

The long-awaited Google Music service should arrive later this week at Google’s Spinal Tap-inspired event, but if Cnet is to be believed, it’ll launch without two of the biggest players in the US music industry. Sony and Warner will not be posting any of their artists on the new MP3 store, putting it at a major disadvantage to iTunes and other digital music vendors. The other two major labels, EMI and Universal, will be selling music through Google.
















According to anonymous insiders, the music labels want Google’s store to be an open experience available to anyone, whereas Google wants to make it an Android-only experience, likely rolling it into their existing Google Music app and selling songs through the Android Market. There are obviously some conflicting agendas here – music companies want as many customers on as many devices as possible, while Google is looking for a competitive advantage, or at least an alternative. Apparently the difference was too much for Warner and Sony.
Music contracts, particularly when it comes to digital sales, are known to be a long and drawn-out affair. Even Apple didn’t have all the major labels available when it launched iTunes, though they joined up eventually. If Google Music or whatever the name ends up being takes off, expect large and small distributors to jump on board. But without a comprehensive library, it’s hard to see why music shoppers wouldn’t simply go somewhere else and buy MP3s from all the major labels, then load them up on an SD card. Google will have to show some impressive features, like a well-thought-out cloud strategy, to put their best foot forward.
[via SlashGear]

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Google Music Store will have “Google in it” says Rubin

We have been hearing rumors for a while now that Google was hard at work on its own MP3 music store. Google does have its music streaming cloud service that lets the user upload tunes they already have to the cloud. We also know that Google had worked to get a music store open in the past, but that ultimately failed to happen.

Google is reportedly now close to opening is own music store again. Android chief Andy Rubin has said at the AsiaD conference, “I think we are close.” Rubin also noted that the music store would be more than just a place selling 99 cent music tracks. He noted it “would have Google in it.” He didn’t elaborate on exactly what that means.
As AllThingsD points out, so far reports have claimed that only EMI is close to a deal with Google. Google will need all the major music publishers on board to really make a go of a music store. If Rubin says close he is either optimistic or other labels have signed on that we don’t know about. Rubin was also surprisingly candid about why the negotiations broke down last spring with record labels. According to Rubin, the problem is that the media industry saw Google as a search company and couldn’t figure out what Google was up to.
[via AllThingsD]

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