Digital

Google close to adding scan and match to its locker

By | Published on Friday 14 September 2012

Google

Google is reportedly close to deals with the majors to allow it to upgrade its digital locker service so that it can offer scan-and-match functionality.

As much previously reported, both Google and Amazon launched music-specific digital lockers in the US without the involvement of the music companies, arguing that no licenses were required to simply let users upload music they already owned to a central server, that could then be accessed via any net-connected device.

While the labels didn’t really agree, no major legal action followed, mainly because it quickly became clear that to succeed in the digital locker space Google and Amazon would both have to offer more sophisticated services that would require licences.

The main one being so called scan-and-match, where the system scans the music on a user’s computer and, where copies of those tracks exist in a central library, copy them from there rather than the user’s own machine, vastly reducing the set-up time required because only a small number of tracks will actually have to be uploaded over the net.

Apple entered the digital locker market with scan-and-match included, putting more pressure on Google and Amazon to add the functionality too. Amazon did just that earlier this summer, and now Google is busy trying to get the deals in place to follow suit.

And according to C-Net, deals are now in place with Universal and Sony to allow Google to start scanning and matching. Negotiations with EMI and Warner, however, are still ongoing. Of course the former of those won’t exist very soon, and presumably the existing deal with new EMI Music owners Universal could be expanded.

As for Warner, well, it’s not signed up to any of the Google Play music services yet, and that didn’t stop the Google download store going live. Though launching scan-and-match without the smaller major on board would be more of a hassle.

Insiders say Google plans to add scan-and-match functionality to its locker without charging the end-user, though the majors won’t be offering their licences for free, so it remains to be seen how the web giant plans to monetise its locker to cover licensing fees.



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