Google Music’s beta version has been up and running on an invite-only basis since it was announced in May. Until now, the site has been a cloud service that stores your uploaded music and lets you play it wherever. The Guardian is reporting that a music store, a-la iTunes, will launch next month. Unlike what happened when the service originally appeared, Google is working with the four major record labels and negotiating contracts for the store. So far they have secured a deal with EMI and are only in talks with the others. At the All Things D AsiaD conference, Google’s Andy Rubin told an audience “Google’s version ‘will have a little twist – it will have a little Google in it. It won’t just be selling 99-cent tracks.'” Given that Rubin heads the Android development team, which just announced its Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, here’s to hoping the “little twist” means that each song will come with a delicious, frozen treat.
So after launching a social network years after Facebook, Google is launching a music store years and years and years after iTunes.
Next up for Google:
– Endorsing Bob Dole’s presidential run
– Buying a sweet Gin Blossoms t-shirt
– Catching Capone!
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