Good news, music lovers of the Great White North. Google is giving you yet another music-streaming option with the launch of its Play Music service in Canada, after nearly two years of pumping the jams here in the U.S.
The service gives you an all-access pass to 25 million songs from all the major record companies, as well as local and independent labels. With Play Music, you can create an ad-free, interactive radio station from any song or artist, browse recommendations from Google's "expert music team," or explore songs by genre.
The radio feature lets you preview the tracks coming up, then add, remove, or re-order the tunes so you always know you'll like what's coming next. There's also a "Listen Now" tab that highlights artists and radio stations Google thinks you'll like, so you can start listening right when you open your library.
A subscription also lets you store up to 20,000 songs from your own collection online for free, and listen to them alongside the jams in Google's library on your Android or iOS device, or via the Web at play.google.com. For those times when you don't have Internet service, you can set specific albums or songs so they're available offline.
The service is free for 30 days, and those who sign up before June 30 can lock in a special launch price of $7.99 a month. If you don't subscribe by that date, you'll have to pay the full price of $9.99 a month after your free 30-day trial.
"With today's launch, Google Play becomes your ultimate digital entertainment destination, where you can find, enjoy and share your favourite apps, games, books, movies, magazines and music on your Android phone or tablet," Google Play Music Product Manager Paul Joyce, wrote in a blog post Monday.
In PCMag's review, Google Play Music earned an "excellent" rating of 4-out-of-five stars, receiving praise for its simple setup and high-quality tracks.