Apple’s famed and beloved iTunes may be getting some competition and from an unlikely source: Google and Facebook.
The New York Times reported that Google intends to allow users to “find and sample songs on the Wed” and will announce the new program at an event to be held at the Capital Records in Hollywood on the 28th.
Google will probably not sell music, but will employ its superior search engine so that users can locate songs and then, presumably, buy from some other source. Google has signed deals with several music services to allow users to sample songs from its site. Full details await the press conference next week.
As for Facebook, it will integrate the existing music sampling site Lala into its gift shop where people will be able to purchase songs via their credit cards using Facebook credit:
There will be two ways to buy songs: For 10 cents, or one Facebook credit, users can buy Web songs that can be played by the recipient online in perpetuity. Or they can pay full price, probably a dollar or 10 credits, then download the song and transfer it to a music player.
If I were Apple I would not be too worried. The iTunes is incredibly user friendly and I don’t see how buying or sampling music is made easier from Google or Facebook. And can these songs be transmitted onto an iPhone or iPod?
Google is usually pioneering, but this new product is a already-done-better let down.
