Google Music's "Twist": You Can Share Songs

Google Music will likely follow Spotify's lead in sharing music to friends via social network and other Google Music members.

ZoomWednesday Google mobile head Andy Rubin said that the Google Music storefront will feature some kind of "twist" to make it more than just an iTunes clone when it launches this quarter. However Thursday brought reports that the "twist" will be the ability to share songs on a limited basis after purchasing, shedding some light on why it's taken Google so long to launch the storefront in the first place.

The current version of Google Music (Beta) serves as a virtual locker, allowing users to upload their songs, and then stream them back or download directly to any connected device. Android owners can access their songs directly from the new Music app donning the headphones icon -- other users can access their songs via an HTML5 app in their mobile or desktop browser.

But once the new Google Music goes live, users will be able to "send" purchased songs stored in their locker to friends, either by email or some kind of share feature listed in the song's drop-down menu. These friends will be able to listen to the songs a limited number of times, or they will have free unlimited access to the songs for a limited time period -- this aspect isn't exactly clear.

That said, Google's new sharing feature may follow Spotify's lead, as members can right-click on a tune and choose "Share To" in the menu. This allows users to post a link back to the song on their Facebook wall, Twitter feed, and via Windows Live Messenger. Songs can also be shared to other Spotify members.

Sources claim that the Google Music storefront will offer straight MP3 sales, and not demand a subscription. They also claim that Google is paying huge up-front advances to record labels to gain the rights to share music. Most of the smaller indie labels are being left out of the picture because they don't have the resources to demand these kinds of advances like the major labels.