One of the other announcements made by Google alongside Android 4.2, Nexus 4, Nexus 7 HSPA+ and the Nexus 10, along with some improvements to the Play Store, was the announcement of Google Play Music coming to Europe and Google Play Music Matching. Which is similar to Apple’s iTunes Match they launched last year, except there’s one major difference. Google is offering it for free. This has been a big week for those of you in Europe. On Monday, Google Play Music launched although you can’t buy music from Google Play…yet. So now not having expandable storage in Europe shouldn’t be as big of a problem as its been now that you’ve got Google Play Music. And today Music Matching, launches.
For those wondering what Google Play Music Matching is, well let’s explain it a bit. Google will compare your library to the millions of tracks already on Google’s servers, and if it matches any songs already in it’s library it will just add the song(s) to your library and not force you to upload all those songs in your library. But if it can not find a match, it will still upload your remaining songs. This will help save space on Google’s servers, and save you time and bandwidth in uploading your entire music library. And from experience it really kills your bandwidth, you’d have to upload at night. Google also announced they have agreements with all the major record labels now (last label to join Google Play Music, Warner Music Group), making Google Play Music an even bigger competitor to Apple’s iTunes. Which is great news for Android fans.
Currently Music Matching is only available in Europe, but we are expecting a US launch very soon, probably before the end of the month. But nothing is set in stone as far as when the US will get Music Matching.
How often do you use Google Music? Are you looking forward to using Music Match? Let us know in the comments.