Google has just made a big change to its Play Music service in a move no doubt aimed at stealing some of Apple's thunder ahead of the June 30 launch of its much publicized Apple Music subscription streaming service.
The Play Music service now offers a free, ad supported version similar to the free tier subscription level of rival services like Spotify and Pandora. In a statement on the official android blog Google says:
At any moment in your day, Google Play Music has whatever you need music for-from working, to working out, to working it on the dance floor-and gives you curated radio stations to make whatever you're doing better. Our team of music experts, including the folks who created Songza, crafts each station song by song so you don't have to. If you're looking for something specific, you can browse our curated stations by genre, mood, decade or activity, or you can search for your favorite artist, album or song to instantly create a station of similar music.
What Google believes will set them apart from their competitors is the extensive algorithms and search features they utilize to recommend you new and exciting music.
In an interview with Wired Magazine, Play Music product manager Elias Roman details what users can expect:
They have no idea how to DJ for themselves," Roman says, so Google is doing that for them. It's trying to solve what Roman calls "Stale iPod Syndrome."
Google's not copying Spotify, giving you unfettered access to every song on demand for the low, low price of free. Its on-demand approach is more like Pandora: You pick a song, artist, or album, and Google Music plays things based on your search. Your "If You're Reading This, It's Too Late" search might get you different Drake tracks, or songs from similar artists.
The service is currently only available to users in the US.
