Google has decided to take yet another giant leap forward, this time in the realm of music streaming services.
The company is reportedly negotiating licensing deals for a music streaming service that would be comparable to the likes of Spotify.
As first reported in the Financial Times on Friday, Feb. 22, Google will likely offer unlimited access to music through both subscriptions and ad support.
There is some speculation already that the decision comes as a reaction to possible future rival Spotify's now being in discussions with labels as regards licensing/revenue models.
Google first created Music Beta, a music storage service in May 2011. Users could upload their personal music library to online storage for employment of streaming anywhere, rather like Amazon's Cloud Drive.
Google next launched its music download store in Nov. 2011. Google expanded the store's reach from the U.S. to Europe soon after.
"Like Apple, Google can leverage its tablets and smartphones as well as its Android operating system to make a go of it," suggests CNET.
CNET continues that the news may merely be part of ongoing interest on the part of Google that the Financial Times itself referenced all the way back in Feb. 2006.
Billboard Magazine and other publications have noted that Google's decision is particularly intriguing as it comes in the very recent wake of the Record Industry Association of America's continuing criticism that the site has failed to do more about cracking down on pirate music sites.
"Six months later, we have found no evidence that Google's policy has had a demonstrable impact on demoting sites with large amounts of piracy," says the RIAA blog.
"These sites consistently appear at the top of Google's search results for popular songs or artists."
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