Google Music Player

Google Music Player

Music Beta by Google

URL http://music.google.com/

Type of site Music streaming service

Registration Required

Available language(s) English

Owner Google

Current status Beta

Music Beta by Google is an online music streaming service that was announced on 10 May 2011 at the Google I/O conference. The service supports streaming music to desktop browsers and Android phones and tablets, or any other device that can use the Adobe Flash platform.

Initially, Music Beta will support storing of up to 20,000 songs on the service for free. However, the Music Beta will only be free "for a limited time." At launch the service is available through invitation to US residents only. The service does not currently support buying music—it is only for streaming purposes. Music Beta will also allow for automatic caching for offline play on mobile devices.

According to the official Google blog, users "can use a feature called Instant Mix to create a playlist of songs that go well together." Music imported from iTunes will retain playlists as well.

Music Beta was first hinted at at the 2010 I/O Conference, where Google Senior Vice-President of Social Vic Gundotra showed a "Music" section of the Android Market that would allow users to download music through the market. In June 2010, a user discovered a logo that said "Google Music" on Google's servers, but it was later deleted.

Regarding the lack of music purchasing features, Jamie Rosenberg, the overseer of digital content and strategy for Google, told All Things Digital that "a couple of the major labels were less focused on the innovative vision that we put forward, and more interested in an unreasonable and unsustainable set of business terms," which led Google to make Music Beta a standalone streaming service.