Google already has a music service installed on every Android device and millions of customers paying for singles and all access music passes. So why did it shell out $39 million for Songza, a little-known music service based in Queens, NY?
Because in a world of music abundance, where you can play just about any song every recorded on demand, finding what you are looking for isn't the problem. Finding what you weren't looking for - but really like - is invaluable. Songza is really good at that.
PCMag has been testing and using Songza since it launched. We have tested the desktop, iPhone, and Android versions of the service. Although there are a few quirks—it's unfortunate that you can't view song lyrics inside the app—we liked it a lot. Playlists are assembled by humans and can change day to day. You can select them based on your mood and select from any number of community-curated playlists. In short, it is powered by people.
This is fundamentally different than the pay-per-track models of Google Play and Apple's iTunes. These massive stores transformed the music industry by making it easy—and relatively cheap—to buy exactly the music you wanted. No need to buy an album. But they left users asking, what happens when you have all the music you want? How do you discover something new? Songza answers that question.
In fact, Edison Research found that Songza is recognized by just 5 percent of consumers. That is way behind brands like: Pandora (70 percent), iHeartRadio (48 percent) and iTunes Radio (47 percent). Lower brand recognition comes from on-demand services Rhapsody (40 percent), Spotify (28 percent), and even Google's own Play All Access (24 percent). (I'm just bummed Slacker didn't make this list.) Clearly, Google has some work to do, but with its dominate Search business and Android install base, it has access to plenty of users.
Google says it won't make any immediate changes to Songza, which is welcome news to its current users. Even so, over time the lines between Google Music and Songza will blur. Their payment systems will almost certainly be integrated soon. If Google can blend the social features of Songza into your existing Google profile, it will be a huge win for the company. (Although I dread the idea of a Google+ integration.)
The weekly audience for all forms of online radio is now 36 percent of all Americans 12 years and older, some 94 million people. And it is growing fast. This acquisition is an acknowledgement that the future of digital music looks more like Songza than Google Music. It is time Google sang a different tune.
For more, check out PCMag's Feb. 2013 interview with Songza co-creator Elias Roman. Also see our reviews of Songza for Android, iPhone, iPad, and the Web.