Google is gradually moving into Unified Communications, but it is also making a play for the digital music market.
Sales of the Android mobile OS have overtaken the iPhone this year and now the search giant is hoping to draw custom away from iTunes too.
The manoeuvre has been welcomed by record companies which want to see Apple’s grip on music for smartphones and PCs loosened. Six out of 10 iPhone users listen to music on their phones compared to four out of 10 Android users.
Apple currently controls over 80% of digital music sales through its iTunes store. Yet record companies are not all together happy with the financial terms that Apple have set.
The soaring sales for digital music are thought to be the future of the industry which has overall taken a big hit, losing $7.7 billion in 2009, according to the International Phonographic Industry Federation.
None of the companies involved can comment right now but it is thought that licences are being drawn up in time for Google's musical offering to be released with the Gingerbread for Android platform.
Offering music downloads for the Android mobile OS is a key part of the company's challenge to Apple. There are now 7.6 million Android mobile subscribers in America compared with 12.4 million iPhone users.
The question that remains is how the music will be charged - paid downloads or streaming and whether this would be incorporated into a monthly bill.
They may also use a free entry-level tier and a paid premium tier, provided that music executives are happy with this.
A music analyst with NPD Group Inc, Russ Crupnick, told the Seattle Times: “Consumers are constantly looking for new music. Music labels know that discovering that music via Google would be profitable for everyone."
No comments:
Post a Comment