Google Music - A Game Of Catch-Up Or A Game Changer?

The recent announcement that Google Music is open for business has been met so far with deafening silence.  With the demise of Buzz and the less than impressive showing of Google+, it seems users are reluctant to get all that exited about yet another product to add to their pantheon of online apps and services.  Of course the media's spin on the release is the inevitable comparison with iTunes, not least of all the NZ Herald which claims "Google is hoping to gain traction over iTunes".  The reality is however that there is very little competition to be had as the choice was already made for people long before Google Music ever even existed.

The simple fact is, if you own an iPod, iPhone etc. you're already using iTunes and aren't about to ship your entire music library over to Google Music (something which you'd be hard pressed to do anyway).  Google Music has not been created to try and entice Apple users away from their beloved smart devices, but to ensure that Android users aren't missing out on what was becoming an ever widening gap in the market.  Google's key demographic is already there, so the creation of Google Music was a no-brainer, but the real job for Google now is to convince their customers that it's worth their time uploading their libraries and furthermore, buying future music from the Android store.

They of course have bonuses to try and entice people to do so, such as the offer of an exclusive Rolling Stones live set from 1973, or a recording of Pearl Jam's recent gig in Toronto (along with other less impressive incentives like a Shakira or Coldplay live EP).  But Google are hoping that the real boon to their release will be the fact you can share whatever tracks you have in library (so long as they have been purchased from the Android store) with people in your Google+ circles. Apple is incapable of using such a social networking tool, however does not necessarily need to as at present links to where users can buy a song from on iTunes appear wherever that song pops up on YouTube, ironically part of the Google conglomerate. 

Back in July the Google CEO had already claimed that over ten million people were using G+, so the ability for those people (which has surely swelled by a fair few millions by now) to share their libraries with people in their circles could see the greatest burgeoning of shared music yet witnessed.  Will this prospective online community of music lovers attract iTunes users to cross the floor and abandon their Apple love? Probably not.  But if it pays off for Google, it will mean there is at least one other behemoth in the music-sharing world, and competition can only be a good thing.  

Of course the real winners out of all of this are the major record labels, all of whom (except for Warner Music) have already signed up with Google Music.  Independent labels are by no means under-represented however, with over one thousand of them also jumping aboard. There is also something to be said for Google Music's 'Artist Hub' which will allow minnow artists and bands to promote their work. If that gains traction then Google Music will at least make it easier for them to get their music out into the world, though it may take quite a while to get to the level of established names who, under Google Music, will be able to set whatever price they like for their music online.

Google Music, like Google+, is more likely to be a slow-burner rather than something to blow the rest of the market away.  If the technology is easy enough to use, and compatible between different devices, then non-Apple users will take to it just as quickly as their iCounterparts have. Making the use of the service free is a good first step, but you would expect nothing less (or more in this case) from Google.