Google Set to Launch Music Store

New service may compete with Apple and Amazon's music download program

After initial testing, Google’s music store may finally launch this quarter, according to BusinessInsider.com.  An owner of an independent record label told the website that the service would launch between October and December, producing major catalog titles first.

The search engine launched Google Music Beta on May 10, 2011, but the test was very limited.  Users were only allowed to back up their existing collections to Google’s web servers. Those songs were then streamed to devices, including Android.

Google also had trouble cooperating with record labels and publishers. Music executives maintained that any time a user streams a song over the Internet, royalty payments must be made on behalf of the user.

Amazon’s cloud storage service and MP3tunes.com have had trouble with music labels for some time. Executives think companies should pay for the service. Amazon and Google have argued that their offer is just a “music locker service,” according to Business Insider.

The New York Times reported that Google is in final negotiations with major record labels to expand their Beta service and also open an MP3 store, which would compete with Apple and Amazon.