Google has acquired a music streaming service in the form of Songza. The buyout comes after some weeks of speculation on how the internet giant would respond to both Apple and Amazon making inroads to the music streaming service. Songza itself has the kind of technology and services that Google needs to compete as Google Play Music still lacks several features to give it the competitive edge.
Songza will provide Google with additional ability to curate personalised playlists for users, much like those found in services like Spotify and Deezer. These companies rely heavily on accumulating listening habits of users, and then feeding it into algorithms that provide feedback on what kind of music is played. This data could easily fit into Google’s plan to be all knowing about it’s customers and even further integrate it services into the lives of everyone.
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Apple’s recent acquisition of Beats is likely what prompted Google to begin pushing for a more complete music streaming service. Although it is a unlikely either will be able to directly compete with the likes of Pandora or Spotify unless they are able to become the more convenient option for listening to music.
One concern is that Youtube is also attempting to set up its own music stream subscription service alongside Google Play Music. While Songza itself is currently being allowed to continue operating as usual, it is unknown how Google will eventually unite all three of these similar products into a single entity. For now, it appears to be a very disorganised plan for tackling the music industry.
[Source: TechCrunch]
