Bits: Google to Start a Cloud-Based Music Player

A month after Amazon angered music labels by starting a cloud-based music player without their cooperation, Google is doing the same thing.

Google plans to introduce its long-awaited cloud music player Tuesday at Google I/O, its developers conference in San Francisco. The service, which it calls Music Beta by Google, will let people upload their music collections to the Internet and listen to the songs on Android phones or tablets and on computers.

Google does not have licenses from the music labels, even though it has been negotiating with them for months to team up on a cloud service. As a result, users of Google’s service cannot do certain things that would legally require licenses, like sharing songs with friends and buying songs from Google.

“A couple of major labels were not as collaborative and frankly were demanding a set of business terms that were unreasonable and did not allow us to build a product or a business on a sustainable business,” said Jamie Rosenberg, director of digital content for Android. “So we’re not necessarily relying on the partnerships that have proven difficult.”

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