Listening to music on Google

Whenever a new Google product is released, masses of tech savvy users jump in to try Google’s new offering. This time around, Google has made a grand entry into the music scene to compete with the gigantic iTunes.

Google Music, which is only available for US customers for now, can already boast a 13- million-song portfolio. There is also a wide selection of free tracks – including a free single every day, quite a few free live recordings (from Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, and others), and exclusives like a Rolling Stones live album from 1973 that has one track few have ever heard before.

Despite the huge portfolio and freebies, Google Music is a bit of an odd mix. For starters, the service assumes you’ll bring your own music initially. Yet there’s no app for ripping a CD or burning music files.

There are three main components to Google Music – four if you count the Android apps for phones and tabs.

The Music Manager is a small utility that watches your music folders and uploads songs automatically to the Google Music site. You can then play those songs on any device. The app runs in the system tray and from there, you can control the bandwidth used for uploads, change your login account and configure the music storage directory.

However, the Music Manager is poorly named – it’s not really a manager at all, but more of an uploader.

The second component is the Google Music site (music.google. com). This is where you store your music, but it is also where you play songs on the web, rename tracks, change album art, and create playlists.

The Google Music site is easy to use. On the left column, you’ll find options for viewing by song, artist, album, and genre. You can view auto playlists for best recent songs and ‘like’ tracks.

It’s also searchable – when you type in a word, you’ll see artists, albums, and playlists pop up as you type. A counter on the far right shows song upload status.

The third component is the Android Market (market. android.com). This is where you’ll search for new music and make purchases, listen to samples, and view an artist hub which includes an extensive bio and listener reviews.

One last component involves playback on mobile devices, including Android tablets and phones. The Google Music app is fairly rudimentary – you gain access to your library of songs in the cloud, and songs you purchase are added automatically.

Once you get the basics down – cloud storage for music, Android Market to buy songs, the Music Manager that automatically uploads songs, the mobile apps – you’ll quickly see that there is a lot of power behind the service. Google Music does a good job matching album, art to albums correctly, although this can’t be expected for obscure artists.

One of the more interesting features involves Google Plus. When you purchase an album or song, you can then share it on Google Plus. Those in your circles can play the song or album once, while those outside of your circles can listen to a short sample. This free sharing increases the value of Google Plus and also helps you find like-minded music listeners.

Not every feature in Google Music is so outstanding. There’s no quick way to see which tracks are being uploaded or downloaded – you have to find the system tray icon and view the app.

Another missing feature is that you can’t ‘like’ a whole album, but only individual tracks. Additionally, there is no sound equaliser available within the online/app player.

Overall, Google Music deserves its status of being out of beta. The apps work smoothly, and the search functionalities are outstanding. The service works well on Android phones and tablets, and I can easily see an app that runs on Google TV.

Google Music is a solid offering, with plenty of songs available for purchase, and works reliably on multiple devices.

The technology enthusiast has his own blog at www.itnewsblog.com.