Mountain View, Calif. – Google (NASD: GOOG) is pitching a digital music
service to the major record labels that includes a song download store and
complementary cloud-based digital locker storage, Billboard reported, citing
sources. The cloud storage element of the service would cost about $25 per
year, and offer consumers purchasing songs the option to automatically add them
to their online lockers.
Google has reportedly proposed splitting the $25 fee
with rightsholders, with music publishers to take a 10.5% share — although
sources weren’t clear on the details.
The company also hopes to offer consumers
the ability to listen to any full-track stream once, and create shareable
playlists that others can listen to in their entirety once before streams
revert to 30-second samples.
It’s unclear whether the locker service would
support storage of tracks downloaded for free from file-sharing networks.
Sources
told Billboard that Google is seeking a three-year licensing term with record
labels, but weren’t sure where or when the service would first launch.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2ex2zj7
(Billboard)
http://tinyurl.com/2c2samz
(Wired.com)
