Google Gets Into the Music-Selling Game, But Is It Too Late to the Party?

Internet search goliath Google has dipped its hand in some risky business ventures before (ahem, Google Buzz), but its recent announcement of a music store may be too little too late in comparison to Apple's go-to source, iTunes. Bloomberg News reports that the new Google Music service will be unveiled at an upcoming event in Los Angeles, Calif. According to unnamed sources, the software will enable users to store music online and listen to their entire library on multiple devices.

Even since the dawn of the iPod, it's been difficult for any other company to catch up to Apple from a mobile standpoint. With the release of its MP3 store, Google may be trying to flex its muscles in the mobile market where it currently holds 53% of all phones sold with its signature Android software. This will mean ease of access for music lovers and Google loyalists.

"They're coming into this market rather late in the game, where there are large, established players," Ray Valdes, an analyst at Gartner Inc. in San Jose, Calif. told Bloomberg. "You can say it's a saturated market."

And Valdes is right. Between iTunes' billion-plus dollars in revenue last quarter and Amazon's continued success as a cloud service and MP3 store, Google may have a tough time getting noticed. As Spinner previously reported, online streaming service Spotify recently threw its hat in the ring and has begun to chip away at other music ventures, thanks to its huge partnership with Facebook. Google also has one other problem -- not every major label is on board with the program, as integration with Google+ has posed questions about piracy.

The company has since reached a deal with Sony Corp.'s music division while Universal Music Group and EMI had already signed on to participate in the service. Unnamed sources say Warner Music Group has yet to reach an accord with Google. Songs will be priced similarly to iTunes, with most tracks going for 99 cents with some selling as high as $1.29.

But with Google's massive stake in all of our daily lives, who knows how easy (or how difficult) it will be for the company's music site to take off. "I doubt they'll meet with immediate success," Valdes said. "If they fail, it will take a while for that to become evident because they have enough presence to make at least slow progress for some time." What do you think of Google Music? Excited or will it flop?

Google Music Store Coming Soon?