Google music streaming has yet to even be announced, but one executive at a major record label says the service can't come soon enough.
In an interview with The Guardian, Francis Keeling, global head of digital business at Universal Music Group, said Google could turn "millions of music listeners into paying subscribers."
At a time when digital revenues are boosting the industry—up 9% last year to $5.6 billion—"Google, with its hundreds of millions of users through search, YouTube with its more than 800 million users, arguably is the biggest funnel we could have," Keeling said. He makes a fair point: "digital streaming contributed more than 10% of the industry's digital revenue for the first time since 2012," The Guardian notes.
Google has yet to reveal or confirm any details, but the service is rumored to be modeled after competitors like Deezer and Spotify, and the company is in talks with major record labels such as Universal to work out a licensing deal. If the service comes through, experts predict it will be released around the third quarter of this year.
[via The Guardian]
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