Google has just landed a deal that brings over 5 million tracks, including Lady Gaga and Rihanna, to Google Play Music. This means more music for devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S3, Google Nexus 4, or Google Nexus 7.
The search giant has closed a deal with European publishing and licensing groups, which adds over 5.5 million songs from popular artists such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna. The deal brings US and UK sections of Universal Music Publishing’s music library to Google Play and is available across most countries in Europe.
The deal was signed with Armonia, a music publishing group that includes Spanish, French, and Italian licensing bodies. Unlike iTunes and Amazon licensing, it doesn’t apply individual deals for specific countries. The deal is applicable to 35 countries.
Tying up individual countries with specific deals has once hindered music, TV shows, and movies from being included in online stores. Unfortunately, this has driven fans to resort to downloading their films, shows, or music from illegal sources.
Not only does this deal give us the music we want when we want it, it also gives Google Play an opportunity to better compete with Spotify, Amazon, and iTunes. In the past, Google Music may have been cheaper compared to other music stores, but the limited selection often drove prospective customers to its rival’s online stores.
The deal is also beneficial for artists. Since music is now readily available, there will be no more need to download pirated music from rather illegal sources.
Will you now be downloading songs from your favourite artists from Google Play, or are you still tempted to get pirated tracks from illegal sources? With more music for Android, will you be making the jump, or do you still prefer getting your tunes from iTunes? Share your thoughts through a comment on our Facebook page.
