Music lovers in India are going to get their fix of the latest tracks faster than before, all thanks to Google.
Google is planning to expand its customer base in India by offering Hindi as part of its Google Assistant. It has ramped up the products it offers in the country which now includes Google Play Music Store on mobiles and computers.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the international market, the company appears to be focused on the imminent release of the "Pixel And Pixel XL" smartphones on Oct. 4 and their rumored colors.
The most important push into the Indian marketplace has been in the form of Google Play Music store, which it launched in the county on Sept. 27. This launch did not get much attention in the official blogpost that was put out by Google in India, which kept the spotlight firmly focused on making "products work better". Users, however, were pleasantly surprised to find that the Google Play Music store had become active on their device as the result of the new products being released.
The NextWeb even stated that the delay in the launch of the Music store in India was never explained by Google as it has been offered to other countries like the United States since 2011. However, even though Google did not explain why the store had only rolled out in India after a gap of five years, the company is making it up with its diverse collection of songs. Importantly, on the Google Play Music store in India, a lot of focus is maintained on songs and music from upcoming films. Among the films that are featured include Ae Dil Hai Mushkil which will be released today in the India as well as Iru Mugan in the regional language Tamil.
With an eclectic mix of songs from Hindi films, and even international music stars on its Play Music Store, it is clear that Google wants to appeal to a diverse audience. Also the price for each song has been kept low with most averaging around 0.23 cents. As for the whole albums, they are priced at around $1.35 — these are pretty close to what Apple Music charges.
Meanwhile, even as Google Play Music Store became available in the country, premium subscription service for Google Play Music All Access is not yet operational right now. Users will also not be able to get radio broadcasts and podcasts; however, these "functionalities will be rolled out in future updates."
Users who want to check out what songs are available can head to Google Play Store, select the music tab and then browse through the library. They can find music that is segregated into categories like Top Songs, Hot New Music and Top Albums.
Google, with the launch of the Play Music Store, is hoping that it will attract more customers in the country where Android devices currently account for 97 percent of all the devices in use.
