Google is reportedly circulating a proposal among major record companies for a music download store, which would be a cloud-based subscription service.
According to Billboard.biz, the company has proposed charging users $25 a year to store songs in the service, so that they could access music on an internet-ready device by either streaming it or downloading it.
It would work similarly to iTunes, where users can download single tracks or full albums.
Subscribers would additionally be able to have their purchases transferred to their cloud-based account.
Google is trying to get the rights to provide its users with the ability to listen to a full track stream of every song just once before purchasing. From then on, they would only be able to hear a 30-second version of the song.
The service would have social-networking features which would let users send playlists to other subscribers. Google will have a web-based music player and a mobile app for playback of the track.
It would also scan a subscriber’s hard drive for music files, which can then be accessible for the user from their cloud-based account, such as songs purchased from Google’s store, songs ripped from CDs or another download retailer.
Google wants an initial three-year licensing agreement from record labels, although reportedly, it is unknown where or when the service will be launched.
Billboard.biz’s sources state that while the proposal is a “good start,” Google will meet a lot of resistance, particularly in the area of payment.
They also say Google has proposed to split subscription revenue 50-50 with rights holders, giving music publishers 10.5pc of the share.
