Google will announce and launch its own music store this quarter, Business Insider said recently. The company revealed its Music beta service in May, which allows users to store up to 20,000 songs in the cloud, but now users will be able to purchase and download tracks, too. Google is reportedly already in negotiations with the major music labels and The New York Times recently reported that the service will launch in the “next several weeks.” Record labels, however, are worried that Google’s cloud storage option could kindle, not stifle, music piracy. “We want to make sure the locker doesn’t become a bastion of piracy,” one executive told The New York Times. If Google introduces a music store it will compete directly with third-party music apps, such as the Amazon MP3 store, on Android smartphones and tablets. Perhaps we’ll hear more on the topic during the joint Samsung/Google Ice Cream Sandwich press conference on October 18th.
