Is Google Play Music planning to be the new Beatport?
I usually upload all of my purchased music to my Google Play Music account so I can listen to and get to know my music wherever I am.
This week I noticed that almost every song I had purchased was now on Google Play already, not just as my uploaded version. This included the full EP for most of the tracks I had bought.
Makes me wonder if Google Play Music is planning to cater to DJs in the near future by offering a (better? cheaper?) version of Beatport, as in without all the stupid re-download requests. It would also mean always available music and recommendations ( in light of their recent acquisitions).
They could be, if they would improve the shopping experience on the Google Play store. Google Play easily wins on price and also the convenience of having your purchases backed up and available in the cloud.
Google Play Music’s catalogue surprised me too. In my personal experience about 8/10 tracks I want to buy on Beatport are available on Google Play Music, and most of the times at cheaper prices too. The sound quality is the same, 320 kbps mp3. The only thing Beatport wins is on track info (which can easily be retrieved and/or analysed (e.g. BPM, Key) in your favourite DJ software) and the shopping experience.
The shopping experience on Google Play Music is far from optimal for DJs. You can’t easily click through on labels, remixers, you don’t have “other people who bought this release X bought release Y,Z”. The music section of the Google Play store really isn’t catering to those who want to discover new, non-mainstream music. You have to know what you’re looking for, by searching for artist or release title otherwise you’re not going to find the stuff you’re looking for since it’s buried under the avalanche of shit EDM releases, compilations etc.
Google could make a massive play here, especially now the EDM boom is approaching its peak in the US, to tap into the vast bedroom DJ market and offer a better value proposition than Beatport or iTunes. They will have to improve the way you browse and discover music though, and might also have to improve the software offering for desktop/laptop environments by offering a standalone alternative to iTunes.