Google is set to join Amazon in the cloud-based music service, according to the latest reports. Google is expected to show off the service at its I/O conference later today.
Google's service will look mighty similar to Amazon's in several respects: both will rely on music storage in the cloud, and both are launching without deals with the major music labels and publishers.
Google's service is said to offer 20,000 songs for free â€"â€" Amazon's only allows enough free room for about 2,000 songs though more space can be added relatively inexpensively. To combat the spread of pirated music, Google's service won't allow users to purchase new songs. Users will only be able to stream music they already own. The service is expected to roll out for all U.S. Google users within a few weeks, with the invite-only beta going out tomorrow.
Just for comparison's sake, Apple is said to have a much more robust streaming music service in the works and deals with two of the four major music labels.
