Google Music. Now Playing

It’s become commonplace these days, but Google has it’s hands in more things than exploring toddlers. Search was just the beginning, and then with it’s acquisition of youtube.com, the introduction of Picassa, and now Google+, it look poised to take on Microsoft and Yahoo as the juggernauts of cyberspace (does anyone use that term anymore? I just did.) Cue Google Music. With Apple’s dominance over this space in recent history, it seems only natural that Google would take a stab at stealing some market share. There are definitely pros and cons about the service, but it is nice to have another music alternative. The music space has changed dramatically over the days of Napster. Once pay-per-song sites came out, there were lots of issues with proprietary software, DRM issues, and even user-friendly interfaces. (For a really cool viewpoint about DRM, check out this article on defectivebydesign.com.) The most ubiquitous being Apple’s iTunes. iTunes is a store and application all-in-one. I don’t really like the iTunes interface, as I think the sync button and the library management’s harmony are never quite on the same page, but that’s just me. Microsoft came out with it’s Zune player and service in 2006 and it never really took off. This is where Google will have to be different. First and foremost, this is a music service. There isn’t a single proprietary device, like Zune’s first generation player (remember that brick looking device?) Secondly, you should be able to buy media with USA greenbacks. No need to make a transition to a point system, like we have to do on XBox Live. I know what Microsoft was doing, but for the more casual consumer, it just didn’t translate too well. Lastly, you can have a genius idea like music sharing (Zune’s “Social”), but it won’t work if there’s no one to share with. Zune’s user base was so small, finding folks to share songs with was virtually impossible. Luckily, Google’s user base includes any Android device, so that works in their favor. Furthermore, it’s a service, much like Google Desktop, that will scan your system and back up all of your music, including your iTunes library. It’s a cloud service essentially and serves to offer Android users an app/service much like iTunes is to iPhone or iPad users. You do need to know that it is actually, however, two separate sites. Google Music is both the media player and the library, but if you want to purchase new media, you do so from the Android Market. Other key points of interest: • You can’t download music to another computer unless you bought them on Google Music. Grrrr. • You can only share songs via Google+. • As of press time, no official iPhone app, but music.google.com does work on iOS devices. As with any new development, one looks at the promises and sees where it goes from there. Jessica Simpson after Dukes of Hazard was hotter than two rats making love in a wool sock, and then that fizzled out faster than flat Diet Coke. Let’s just hope Google doesn’t bite off more than it can chew and follow the same path. It should do what it has always done, and keep things user-friendly. About SeedCornPPC: Seed Corn Advertising is an online Advertising Network based in Los Angeles, California committed to establishing new business development partnerships and to grow your search network and ours.Learn more about SeedCornPPC by visiting us at http://www.seedcornppc.com/