(Entertainment-NewsWire.com, November 16, 2012 ) Victoria, Australia -- The search-engine giant Google has struck a deal with Warner Music Group, an important step in solidifying its music services through its Play store.
Google announced the deal Monday in a blog posting along with news about new Nexus models, according to Ben Sisario of The New York Times’ Media Decoder blog.
“We’re now working with all of the major record labels globally, and all the major U.S. magazine publishers, as well as many independent labels, artists and publishers,” Google’s Andy Rubin wrote. Rubin is senior vice president for mobile and digital content.
Warner has hundreds of artists, including Green Day, Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The addition is expected to help Google’s music service compete with iTunes and Amazon. Google unveiled plans for its MP3 store in November 2011.
Users of Android cannot access iTunes, but they will have a larger catalog of music from which to buy MP3s through Play. Google’s music store is set to open Nov. 13 in Western Europe, according to the blog posting.
Europe will receive an important cloud music feature called “scan and match.” Users will not have to upload each of their songs because music on their devices will be matched to a master database on Google’s servers. Rubin said the feature would be available in the United States “soon after” its debut in Europe.
About 15% of the recorded music market throughout the world is controlled by Warner, according to Music & Copyright, a trade publication.
The last large recording label to seal a deal with Spotify was Warner.
In March, Google Play consolidated its MP3 store, Android app market and offering of magazines, movies, and TV shows.
An ice-cream giveaway from a truck at New York’s celebrate Brooklyn was part of Google’s branding effort for Play this summer.
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