In Media Res was asked to look at recent news in the media industry. We found the most important new in the media industry is that competition is heating up. Google Inc. just introduced its own online music player that would work closely with Google Plus- the Google Inc. social network. “Google Music” is the current name of the product that Google is working with. This online music source would work much like an iTunes or the newer Spotify in a way that Google customers would share their musically libraries with their Google Plus contacts who could listen to the music for free, however the catch is you may only listen to it free once. After the one free listen, the song would be available for downloading for 99¢ per purchase, which currently is cheaper than iTunes purchase rate of $1.29. However, controversy has struck Google Inc. in regards to the participation of all four major-label companies. Without the participation of Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI, the four major-label companies, dissatisfaction of customers is bound to be an issue. Without all four major-label companies this also compacts the amount of songs available for listening and downloading, for many customers they want all the convenience of a one-stop shop. Google Inc.’s competitors though have all waited until the guarantee of all four major-label companies before issuing their music services.
Online music is becoming a major trend. While Google Music is still in its elementary phase, there are certain glitches that still need to be worked out. Google Inc.’s competitor, iTunes, according to Wall Street Journal, is about to start an online music listener that will create revenue for the company as well as all the major-label companies. Spotify-a new online music listener that allows sharing between Facebook friends launched their product over the summer. Even Spotify has revenues of $10 a month for the ad-free smartphone version and $5 a month without ads. With all the competition in online music players, Google Inc. may have a hard time breaking into the music industry.
