MP3 purchases from Google are 'close,' Rubin says

So we didn't see any updates to Google Music this week like so many of us had hoped there would be. But Andy Rubin has said that Google is "close" to being able to offer a bona fide MP3 store. 

Speaking at the AsiaD conference, he recognised the lack of such content as a key "missing ingredient" in the attempts to lure people away from the Apple and iTunes ecosystem. He also said that Google would not be following "the 99-cent model" but that their pricing would "have a little twist - it will have a little Google in it." Let's hope for some subscriptions, eh?

Not much detail to go on, but it looks as though Google could be about to turn a corner. They're said to have inked a deal with EMI, with negotiations continuing with Universal, Sony Music and Warner Music. 

Source: The Guardian

Richard Devine