Google Opens Music Store in Android Market

By Andy Fixmer and Douglas MacMillan - Nov 17, 2011 5:58 AM GMT+0700

Google Inc. (GOOG), the world’s largest Internet-search company, introduced a music service that lets people buy songs through the Android Market, stepping up competition with Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iTunes store.

Users will be able to store and stream as many as 20,000 songs on Google Music, the company said today at an event in Los Angeles. Google has forged partnerships with 1,000 record labels, including Vivendi SA (VIV)’s Universal Music Group and EMI Group Ltd., letting it offer a total of 13 million songs.

Google has expanded into music, television and movies to help promote its Android smartphone operating system, which works with the Android Market. The company, based in Mountain View, California, also sees music as a way to deepen its social- networking features.

“Music is more important to Google than ever before,” Jamie Rosenberg, director of digital content for Android, said at the event. The service will offer reviews, band information and exclusive content from artists such as Coldplay. Users will get 90-second previews of songs before they buy.

For record labels, the effort helps ensure that consumers purchase their music legally. It also decreases music companies’ reliance on Apple’s iTunes, the leading seller of digital songs.

“Any new legitimate place to consume music legally is the best tool we have to combat piracy,” Rob Wells, who oversees digital operations at Universal Music, said at the event.

Google shares fell 0.8 percent to $611.47 at the close today in New York. The stock has climbed 2.9 percent this year.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net; Douglas Macmillan in San Francisco at dmacmillan3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net