Mountain View, Calif. – Google (NASD: GOOG) is frustrated with the state
of its licensing negotiations with record labels on its planned music service,
and is contemplating following Amazon’s lead and launching a
less-fully-featured service without licenses, according to multiple reports.
A
source close to the talks told industry blogger Wanye Rosso that Google was
"disgusted" with the labels, and may go as far as to shut down the
music service project altogether.
Separately, sources told Music Ally that
Google may shelve planned elements of the service that require licensing, and
launch a "pure cloud locker offering," similar to Amazon Cloud Drive.
Those sources also told Music Ally that some of the friction could also stem
from a "widening divide between Google’s music licensing team and the more
engineering-led execs who are currently resurgent within the company."
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3phov86
(Wayne Rosso blog)
http://tinyurl.com/3l42rqv
(Music Ally)
