music streaming

Google is about to announce a new online music service at its annual Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco, according to the Wall Street Journal report.

The Journal cited the sources familiar with the situation saying the service will operate in a testing mode initially and not be available to the public at large.

The Journal said Google has not sought licenses from the four major recorded-music companies and the new feature is likely to include a system that functions much like a remote hard drive.

This week Matthew Hawn of Last.fm announced that starting February 15 people will have to pay for the service when listening via mobile applications and such devices as Sonos and Squeezebox. The service thus will become ad-free and subscription based. The subscription cost is $3 a month.

Last.fm Radio will remain free for U.S., UK, and German listeners using a Web browser. U.S. and UK users can also continue to listen for free with Microsoft's Xbox Live and Windows Mobile 7 phones.

 Song streaming site imeem was at last purchased by MySpace on Tuesday for less than $1 million. According to MySpace Chief Executive Owen Van Natta in a blog posting the deal will enable MySpace Music venture to integrate imeem's offerings over time.

The acquisition comes as MySpace has launched its own online music service that lacks a mobile phone application that streams songs on Apple's iPhones and devices using Google's Android operating system, such as the new Droid phone.

 A prominent music streaming service Spotify announced extension of its mobile reach with the release of an application that allows Symbian based mobile phones to access it. Earlier the service launched apps for iPhone and Android users and now Nokia, along with Sony Ericsson and Samsung cell phone users will also be able to enjoy music access.

Phones powered by Symbian far outstrip the iPhone and Android (for now) in Europe where Spotify is currently available.