Chris Southcott will be proud – Google Play Music has finally hit Australian shores. Combined with the news that Google Play has gotten a massive redesign, Australians can now purchase music from Google Play – the final piece that was previously blocked off from Play (Books, Magazines and Movies were previously made available).
Pricing varies per song, a la like iTunes music pricing – for instance Change Your Life by British girl band Little Mix costs $2.19, while Can’t Hold Us by Macklemore is only $0.99. However, as Apple told the IT Pricing Inquiry, the record labels dictate the price – so you can assume that Google Play is also tied by those same restrictions.
But is it too late to the party? Last year saw a flood of music services opening their doors to Australians – including some big names like Pandora, Rdio and Spotify. It will be difficult for Google to get people on board, especially since Pandora, Rdio and Spotify would have built up a loyal following.