by Dwight Calwhite, ApogeeInvent President

Google released Google Music at an event in LA last week. Portions of the service had been in beta since the spring, but now they have pulled back the entire curtain. But how does it stack up against well situated competitors in the digital music space?

Consumers will benefit greatly because the Google Music service will make a strong connection between Google's music storage (Google Music), music store (Android Market), social network (Google+), music videos (YouTube), and their mobile platform (Android).

Many people, including myself and my friends currently use YouTube in a pinch when needing to play a song. The option is already there for consumers to purchase via AmazonMP3, Apple iTunes and Android Market directly on the YouTube video. However, now that Google Music allows you to store up to 20,000 songs for free in an online "music locker". This locker is intended to serve as a central location for your music and Google is quickly building deep connections to this locker in its other properties such as Android OS and Google+.

In one respect they are playing catch up to iTunes which has been selling and storing (locally) your music since 2003, however just like with the late release of their social network, Google has such a wide breadth of online destinations it is easier for them to fill in the gaps late in the game. I expect Google Music to be very popular with consumers mostly because it is free and because of the strong integration with the wildly popular Android mobile OS. 

I also find the user interfaces that Google has been releasing lately to be simple and clean. They are perhaps a bit too childish at times, with primary colors and square buttons adorning all non-empty space, but overall that will help the new service to be approachable and therefore gain early adopters. iTunes on the other hand is starting to feel a bit cluttered and aged in comparison.

Enough consumer talk, let's get down to business. Google Music is charging artists a $25 one time fee to host the artist's music, and taking 30% of the purchase price of each song. No additional fees. This low barrier to entry puts them squarely in front of independent artists, many of whom are using services like SoundCloud or makeshift websites with PayPal purchase/download options.

Amazon and iTunes have a much higher barrier to entry for independent artists. Both require you to have digital distribution representation through such services as CDBaby for Amazon.com or a 20 album minimum label for iTunes.

The low barrier to entry coupled with revenue sharing is a proven business model which allowed Apple's App Store to achieve unparalleled success in its industry. I expect the same for Google Music in the independent music industry.

Google also signed 3 of the 4 major labels (not Warner Music) so it will be able to sell music from most big name acts as well.

I'm excited to see Google diving head first into markets where it's playing catch up. In the end competition is good for all of us because it spurs innovation. Even though it may be confusing as to which service is best, I would say sit back and watch the music wars heat up for a year. After the dust settles a little bit I think you will find a clear winner out of the bunch - it just may be the colorful caboose Google, playing catch up again.

Google Music for Artists "“ Google

Go direct to fans on Google Music to distribute your albums. Build your artist page, set your retail prices, sell your original songs.