MacDailyNews Take: Hey, Eric, you derivative creep: Yesterday, Steve Jobs wore a pink blouse with semi-matching pink cowgirl hat to work.
Morrison continues, “Google hasn’t made any specific proposals yet, but the nature of discussions with music companies suggest the Internet giant is likely to roll out its music services in two phases, said people who have been briefed on the talks. The launch of Google’s download music store is still months away, they said.”
“The launch of a Google music store would heighten tensions with Apple Inc., whose iTunes store is the leading U.S. digital music seller,” Morrison reports. “Google’s push into music retailing would be welcomed by music labels that are increasingly concerned about Apple’s dominant position among U.S. music retailers.”
“The first phase of Google’s music service is expected to be a Web store where users can buy and download tracks, music industry insiders said… But they cautioned that Google hasn’t yet made any specific proposals to the music labels, so the search giant’s plans aren’t entirely clear at this point,” Morrison reports. “These people also said the download store would be an ‘interim’ step toward what is expected to be a more ambitious cloud-based subscription service compatible with mobile phones built with Google’s Android software. A cloud-based service would enable subscribers to stream music directly from the Internet to their mobile phones, so that users wouldn’t need to store music files on their devices.”
Morrison reports, “Apple in the past several months bought and then shut down online music service Lala.com, prompting widespread speculation it might also soon launch a new cloud-based version of its iTunes music store.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Google. The new Microsoft. Copy Apple poorly, copy Apple poorly, copy Apple poorly, then copy Apple poorly some more.