Official Google Music app for Apple's iOS to launch this month - report
On the heels of Apple's iTunes Radio release, Google plans to launch a native iOS application for its Google Play Music All Access service on the App Store, according to a new report.
When Google's Spotify competitor ? which gives users access to a wide catalog of streaming music for a $9.99 per month subscription fee ??launched in May with desktop web access and an official Android application, iOS users were left only with the choice of a small mobile web app or unsupported, third-party native apps. That is set to change as Google is readying an official iOS app for the service, according to Engadget.
Previously, Google cited DRM concerns as their primary reason for delaying an iOS launch, saying that Flash support was required on the device. The search giant has reportedly jumped that technical hurdle and the iOS app is in employees' hands for testing, with a public unveiling coming later this month after the company can squash a few lingering bugs.
When the service was first announced in May, Google said its Play Music All Access would arrive on iOS in the coming weeks. Since then, the company has remained silent on when the official application may launch.
The report comes as Rdio, another competitor in the suddenly hotly contested streaming music space, on Thursday announced the launch of its own free internet radio service for iOS and Android. Apple's iTunes Radio has turned up the heat on the competition, attracting more than 11 million listeners in its first week of availability and prompting brands like Nissan and McDonald's to pay up to $10 million to advertise on the service.
When Google's Spotify competitor ? which gives users access to a wide catalog of streaming music for a $9.99 per month subscription fee ??launched in May with desktop web access and an official Android application, iOS users were left only with the choice of a small mobile web app or unsupported, third-party native apps. That is set to change as Google is readying an official iOS app for the service, according to Engadget.
Previously, Google cited DRM concerns as their primary reason for delaying an iOS launch, saying that Flash support was required on the device. The search giant has reportedly jumped that technical hurdle and the iOS app is in employees' hands for testing, with a public unveiling coming later this month after the company can squash a few lingering bugs.
When the service was first announced in May, Google said its Play Music All Access would arrive on iOS in the coming weeks. Since then, the company has remained silent on when the official application may launch.
The report comes as Rdio, another competitor in the suddenly hotly contested streaming music space, on Thursday announced the launch of its own free internet radio service for iOS and Android. Apple's iTunes Radio has turned up the heat on the competition, attracting more than 11 million listeners in its first week of availability and prompting brands like Nissan and McDonald's to pay up to $10 million to advertise on the service.
Comments
Oh good, another Google app that's not coming near my devices.
Do hope royalties will be paid, this time.
There's no ads on Google's All-Access Music. It's not an ad-supported music service like Apple's iRadio.
Maybe they are not there now, but they will come sooner or later and in huge numbers, just like every google product ever made.
As long as it remains a subscription service I doubt it will ever deliver ads. Quite an odd turn really with Google not targeting ads but Apple does for their streaming music app.
There's no ads on Google's All-Access Music. It's not an ad-supported music service like Apple's iRadio.
Then what is the point of it? Google is an ad company, unless it is just to gain access to the data on your device.
As long as it remains a subscription service I doubt it will ever deliver ads. Quite an odd turn really with Google not targeting ads but Apple does for their streaming music app.
iTunes Radio only has ads if you don't subscribe to iTunes Match which is only $24.99 per year vs Google Music being $9.99 a month.
http://www.apple.com/itunes/itunes-match/
To make money, it is a paid service.
Correct, but they're two entirely different services. You can specify a particular song, artist, album etc on Google All-Access and even add any songs you like to your personal library at no additional charge. You can't do any of those with iRadio AFAIK. I particularly like having a channel available with only music I've given a thumbs up.
My son & daughter have been using (sharing one subscription) this service for about 3 months now. They both like it very much. Personally I think the station feature on Pandora picks better similar choices than play music app does. My kids don't use the radio feature much as they have specific artists they listen to. I'm more of a casual listener.
Correct, but they're two entirely different services. You can specify a particular song, artist, album etc on Google All-Access and even add any songs you like to your personal library at no additional charge. You can't do any of those with iRadio AFAIK. I particularly like having a channel available with only music I've given a thumbs up.
My point is that iTunes Radio only has ads if you don't pay for iTunes Match. With iTunes Match you get to store your songs on iCloud to be streamed to any device and you get ad-free iTunes Radio. So they are not really "entirely different services" plus iTunes Match only costs 20% of what Google All-Access does for a year.
Correct, but they're two entirely different services. You can specify a particular song, artist, album etc on Google All-Access and even add any songs you like to your personal library at no additional charge. You can't do any of those with iRadio AFAIK. I particularly like having a channel available with only music I've given a thumbs up.
iTunes radio is more akin to traditional 'radio'. You can 'tune' it but it is not a music on demand service. You can't build play-lists etc. I think it is designed more as a music discovery service which ties into the iTunes store for purchasing music you discover. It suits the casual listener better, me thinks. Streaming services like Spotify and Pandora takes more work. They may be better for many people who like more control. My kids use iTunes radio but my youngest is pissed off that she can't skip and control everything. She rarely listens to a song all the way (!) For here a 9 bucks a month service would probably be much better
If you purchase a half dozen songs a month or more via iRadio you'll probably save money with Google All-Access, and stream from the cloud to all your devices just like iTunes.
Already have iTunes Match, thank you very much, works better and from a company which has proven it is trustworthy.... unlike google which violates customers rights with impunity, and doesn't respect privacy.
If you purchase a half dozen songs a month or more via iRadio you'll probably save money with Google All-Access, and stream from the cloud to all your devices just like iTunes.
Yes, and if you buy a half dozen songs through Google Music a month you'll be paying more than someone else with iTunes Match and buying the same amount of songs. Let's compare apples to apples, not some contrived situation to make one service seem cheaper than the other. Now Google All-Access being able to allow you to create custom playlists of songs to stream that you don't own is an additional benefit that neither iTunes Match or iTunes Radio does provide, but that still does not make them "drastically different".
You don't have to buy to have them available in your cloud library for streaming. As for how similar they are, other than both play music they sure seem pretty darn different to me.
1. One is free but ad-supported. The other is by subscription and no ads.
2. One of the services lets you specify particular songs, artists etc even tho you don't have to. The other does not.
3.One lets you add songs to your personal library for streaming to any other devices you own. The other requires that you buy them if you don't already own them.
4. One is cross-platform. The other is only available to iDevices.
5. One may cost $120 a year for "all you can consume" music. The other can be free with ads or $25 without.
I would guess that iRadio is good enough for a great number of Apple users and certainly sounds well thought out. No need to spend money for something you wouldn't use anyway. For others the added functionality and value of Google All-Access will be worthwhile. It doesn't mean one is "better" than the other. They're just different and choices are good.
Yes, and if you buy a half dozen songs through Google Music a month you'll be paying more than someone else with iTunes Match and buying the same amount of songs. Let's compare apples to apples, not some contrived situation to make one service seem cheaper than the other. Now Google All-Access being able to allow you to create custom playlists of songs to stream that you don't own is an additional benefit that neither iTunes Match or iTunes Radio does provide, but that still does not make them "drastically different".
It depends on how much you 'work' your music. The ability to treat your subscribed to library as your own is drastically different for some people. Or put it this way, the inability to manipulate the entire iTunes library granularly like your own iTunes library is a deal breaker to some folks. Not to me, personally, but to many. I would describe the services as fundamentally different.
- as the Gator Dude just said...
- I'd just add ...'to some people', to his last sentence. (Cuz it can also be a pain in the but)