Google Makes Partnerships to Compete with iTunes
Google Music Screenshot
In the midst of the Google and Bing Deals with Twitter, a very important music industry related press release was lost. Google is actively making a play to compete with iTunes. On October 28,2009 they will announce their partnership with iLike and Lala. For weeks now, we have been hearing buzz about Google will soon be launching a new music service and has a partnership with a major record label (now known to be Capitol Records). The service is reported to be quite different from the service available in China which allows users to download music for free and may include some downloading and streaming and is very likely to use their existing music search engine.
From information we’ve gathered from multiple sources, the new service will be integrated into Google search. Users will be able to stream songs directly from Google via partners iLike and Lala. Both iLike and Lala provided limited streaming services today. Lala lets users stream a song once, then a user either has to pay or only get a 30 second clip. iLike has some full streaming, some 30 second clips. MySpace Music has full streaming rights from all four major labels. Considering Apple lacks a popular search like Google, Bing or Yahoo, it unlikely that it would be able to compete with a service like Google’s new offering if it gathers storm.
Google Music Invite
However, considering Google’s recent failures with Chrome and Jaiku, gathering the right amount of hype and popularity is what will be key for Google so they will have to effectively use their label, site, artist and event partnerships to generate the right buzz and fan base. The kickoff event on October 28, 2009 will offer the selected invited press a live event featuring OneRepublic, Linkin Park, Dead by Sunrise and others. I believe this service could have an immediate revenue stream for Google and present a real and viable competitor to iTunes and other music streaming/download services across the net. It could be the music industry’s answer to pirating and present a music version of Hulu, an industry backed online service. It has the partnerships to do it, I’ll be interested to see how this evolves.
Source: Google to Parter with iLike and Lala for New Music Service
Source: Google Music Service: The Screenshots
Source: What Impact Will Google Music Search Have?
iLike Profile: iLike, which launched in late 2006, is a social music recommendation service that now has more than 50 million registered users. It tracks what you listen to and like and gives you recommendations on new music based on that data as well as what your friends are listening to. It is the top music application on Facebook, Bebo, Hi5 and just about every other social network other than MySpace, which has MySpace Music. On August 19,2009, iLike was aquired by MySpace.
Lala Profile: Lala is a hub for online music discovery and purchasing. Users can listen for free music, adding tracks to their playlist as they surf. members who download a plugin can turn Lala into an online music locker that syncs their desktop music libraries to their Lala account. Long uploads aren’t necessary. If Lala already has the song in their library, they simply unlock the file to you online.
Source: iLike Acquired by MySpace
Popularity: 2% [?]
[...] Labels should become software companies. If sales of music recording software is increasing and recorded music sales are declining, it makes sense for labels, that have access to the marketing channels for music to build software cheap for the masses then sell add on marketing and distribution services. Basically, the printer/ink model would work wonders here. You create an inexpensive one off recording software solution then upsell buyers into residual services like a configurable music website with integrated player, hosting, media buys on industry sites, internet radio buys, demo CD production, music distribution and marketing tutorials, etc. Labels could become resources for the public, aspiring artists and DJs not the ENEMY. If I were a label, I would start buying up small music technology companies or partnering with Apple and building a solid software solution, a social network akin to HULU but more like a radio station and a collection of resources for artists. And, if I were Billboard, I’d have already done this with my existing website! But, then again, maybe that’s what Google has planned for Google Music Search. [...]