Getting to Know Google Music Beta

I remember hearing rumors about a Google music service, and top tech blogs aggressively pursuing the story few months ago. It didn’t materialize into anything substantial at that point and nothing close to a full fledged Google music service came into existence. It has now though. Google introduced their cloud music player, currently being called Music Beta, in their annual I/O conference in San Francisco.

What is Google Music (Beta)?

It is basically your music player in the cloud i.e completely online. You can upload songs and play them from anywhere in the world as long as you can connect to the internet. Up to 20,000 songs can be uploaded and there’s an app for Android available too. And that’s not it. There are goodies like playlist creator, instant mixes and much more to enhance your music listening experience.

Following is an example Google Instant Music Mix, courtesy Adam Pash.

Is it Available Worldwide?

Sadly, no. As with most of the new Google products, it is currently available only in the U.S. And it is an invite-only service at the moment. So you’ll have to request an invite and only once Google sends you the invite code, you can get in and try it out.

However, there are workarounds and if you are outside U.S., you can use a VPN tool to check it out.

Is it Free?

It is completely free while it is in beta but chances are that there will be some kind of fee involved in the near future. Well, enjoy it while it is free.

What About the Android App?

The free Google Music app is available in the Android market and you can install it on your Android phone. The app looks slick and comes pre-loaded with some music.

Check out some screenshots of the app.

The tool has got mixed reviews from the tech community but most of them are positive. If you are in the US, make sure you try it out and see how it works. Share your experiences in the comments.