Google Music Launch Inching Closer To Reality? [Google's Andy Rubin Reportedly Having "Accelerated" Talks With Music Industry]

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Google Music is still for the most part an unknown product. That said, there has been speculation and most recently we heard mention that it would be launched alongside Android 3.0 Gingerbread in time for the 2010 holiday season.

And now a little more recently, it looks like progress on the Google Music front is still being made. The reports are coming by way of the New York Post, who are reporting that “the music marketplace is advancing more rapidly than expected,” at least according to “music industry sources.” Furthermore, Google’s Andy Rubin is said to currently be involved in “accelerated” talks with the Harry Fox agency.

Basically, this is said to suggest a possible November or December launch. And yes, that time frame fits those earlier reports, so I guess if nothing else this can be taken as further evidence.

“But the state and pace of the talks with the music industry’s publishing firm, the Harry Fox Agency, means a Google Music store could open in November or December, sources said.”

And as you would expect in a developing story like this, neither Google or the Harry Fox agency had anything to say on record. That aside, the talks are said to be focusing on pricing and rights. And that is where it gets interesting; Will Google Music end up being more open or more restricted as compared to Apple’s iTunes. One would hope more open, but we must remember some of the complaints that the music industry has generated about iTunes. Then again, it seems pretty clear that DRM in terms of music downloads has moved into the past.

As for the competition, Apple is said to have 28 percent of the market share with Amazon and Walmart coming in with 12 percent a piece. In other words, Google has their work cut out for them.