Google has reportedly begun testing Google Music internally, but whether existing music services should be worried remains to be seen. Taking the news as a sign "that the much anticipated
service is nearly ready to launch," CNet writes: "Employees at the online behemoth have begun a process commonly referred to in Silicon Valley as dog-fooding, in which employees try out a
new service or product."
"Google wants to operate a ‘locker' music service, which gives users access to all of their personal music files from a cloud-based server, and
has begun testing the service internally," writes MediaMemo.
"But just like Spotify, Google can't launch without label deals -- or, at least, it doesn't want to launch without label deals-and so far it doesn't have anything locked
down."
"The service will most likely be unveiled at Google I/O, the company's big conference for developers in May," Business Insider suggests. Negotiations with at least some of the top publishers and
with the four largest record labels are ongoing, according to CNet, citing sources. "The delays are largely due to the complexity of the subject matter," it writes. "Google is after
cloud music rights and not just for songs acquired from Google Music."
"Even with those setbacks," 9to5Mac writes, "Apple is best poised to bring such a service to the market due to
its marketing muscle, the iTunes ecosystem and the leading status it enjoys in the music industry."
As Digital Trends notes, CNet's report is corroborated by comments made by Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha, who mentioned to the Guardian last month that Google had a "music
service" in the works. Also, "A recent report from Billboard, which named executives rumored to be working on Google Music, adds further evidence that the streaming service is on its
way."
Read the whole story at All Things D »