Google Music’s Twist: Sharing After You Buy
By Ed Oswald | Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Google music chief Andy Rubin sat on stage Wednesday at All Things Digital’s AsiaD conference and promised us that its Google Music store would be more than just another iTunes. On Thursday we found out why. Business Insider reports that the “twist” Rubin is speaking of involves the ability to share music “on a limited basis” after you purchase the tracks.
Once shared, the tracks can be played a specific number of times by the recipient at no cost, say Business Insider’s sources. It’s not clear exactly how the process will work, although it probably would involve some kind of link to the purchaser’s music “locker,” a feature that launched with the beta of Google Music in May. The move certainly signals that the music industry may be ready to soften its stance.
Previously, the record labels had been pretty steadfast in their opposition to share music that they had purchased legally. But the launch of Spotify here in the US shows that the industry may have realized that the tight controls it has placed on digital content may actually be doing the opposite of what its intended to do: stop piracy.
Just think about it — if your friend tells you about a hot new track, is the 60 or so seconds that iTunes or any other service gives you as a preview enough to tell if you really like it? Why not give the opportunity to listen to the whole thing, in a controlled environment. Who knows, you just might buy it!
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October 20th, 2011 at 7:26 pm
Well that's certainly nothing I'm interested in. They're basically abandoning "normal" people who simply use their phones/mp3 players to … play music, in favor of those who see it more as a social game. Enough with "SOCIAL" already!
October 21st, 2011 at 9:29 am
More DRM'ed product for suckers.
January 4th, 2012 at 4:40 am
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October 21st, 2011 at 10:19 am
@Alvin: Exactly so. This service couldn’t be less interesting to me. But I suspect that I’m not exactly their target market. Assuming their target market is people aged 13-25, I’m not sure this would appeal to them, either. They already know how to share music, without any limited-use encumbrances.
October 21st, 2011 at 11:11 am
Sounds a lot like what the Zune was able to do back in 2006.
October 22nd, 2011 at 8:18 pm
It's an idea worth trying out. Although I'm not particularly interested but I'm pretty sure there are a number who are.
The late Zune was minimally successful at this. I think with some tweaks and creative marketing, Google might just pull it off.
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