Google has launched an online music store in the US in a bid to compete with Apple and Amazon in audio entertainment space.
Google Music, which has a repository of 13 million songs, will be integrated with Android Market, the company’s online store for smartphone apps and videos.
Google head of digital content for Android Jamie Rosenberg said the service lets users upload about 20,000 songs into cloud storage and play them on any computer, even in iOS, or on an Android smartphone running version 2.2 or more.
He added, "The Google Music service will continue to be free."
However, absence of Warner Music Group, which has not signed a deal with Google Music, might limit its appeal, feel analysts.
Google will also let users share purchased songs with friends on the Google+. The feature will give users of Google+ a "free, full-play" of songs their friends have bought.
To encourage indie players, Google will include artist pages. This allows musicians to upload their own tracks and sell directly. The search engine company will charge a 30% commission for this service, it was reported. Presently, it will offer free download of one track every day.
