Category: Google Play Music

Fans of The Beatles, your wait is finally over.  You can now download and stream all 13 of the Fab 4’s albums through the Google Play Music service on your PC, Mac, Android tablet or phone.  In addition, there are four collections that are available through Google Play Music for purchase.  Individually, the albums are $7.99 each while the collections are $12.49 each.

The best-selling band in history, with 20 number one Billboard Hot 100 hits, The Beatles continue to be one of the world’s most beloved bands decades after their last original album.

The news is certainly welcome for fans of the band and brings the Google service on par with Apple’s iTunes which has had The Beatles available for about a year now.

The Beatles on Google Play Music

Google has thrown out another nice little holiday treat for everyone.  Now through January 4, 2016, you can save 50% off of any album in the Google Play Store when you use the link below.  The really nice thing is that this promotion is really on any album.  I checked out several this morning at various price levels and the coupon code worked on all of them.  Keep in mind that you can only use the coupon one time per account so make it count!

50% Off any one album at the Google Play Store

Back in September at the Google event where we saw the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X for the first time, Google teased that Google Play Music for families would be coming soon to the streaming music service.  Since then, thanks have been a bit quiet on the offering but that ended earlier today.  On the Official Android Blog, the company outlined that the service will be available “in the coming days”.

You and your family will be able to sign up for a Google Play Music family plan in the coming days on Android devices in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, France and Germany, with more countries coming soon. You and your family members can listen on Android, iOS and the web.

If you are a family with lots of music lovers, this will be a great plan at only $14.99 per month for unlimited streaming and downloading for up to 6 members of your household.  Keep in mind that a single subscription is $9.99 per month so basically for $5 you getting 5 additional accounts.

Yesterday’s news of Google Play Music now offering ad-supported streaming music in Canada was certainly welcome news.  But at the end of that announcement there was a passing mention around podcasts.

We thought that would be awesome, so today we’re announcing that we plan to start offering podcasts on Google Play Music, giving podcasters access to millions of new listeners on Android phones and tablets.

Now this in itself isn’t new.  Google announced this same thing when they launched the streaming service here in the US.  In fact, it is the exact same language. Interestingly however, as I researched this last night (after building my Fi Lego set of course), there is surprisingly little information on this or when it will be coming to Google Play Music.  The one clear thing that is known is that content is needed and if you have a podcast you want to offer up then it is time to get registered with Google on it.

Google Play Music has been update for Android devices and it brings a new feature for subscribers to the services unlimited plan.  Now you have a new Sound Search feature that allows you to have the app listen to music that is playing and it will identify it and take you to that song in the service so you can add it to your library. Because subscribers can add and download music to their library without actually owning the content (it is digitally locked to your account), the search feature is a quick way to add music to your library on-the-fly without having to make anything more than the $9.99 monthly subscription.

If this new Sound Search feature sounds familiar, the concept has been around quite some time.  Shazam is probably the best known of these types of services and they still are around.  With the inclusion of this type of feature in Google Play Music and other premium services, a stand alone app is starting to make less sense.

The update to the app is version 6.1.2116T for those who are keeping score at home and it is in the Google Play Store now.  If you have the app installed, it could be a day or two before you see the OTA update.

Google Play Music – Free (In-App Purchases) – Download Now

Today at Google Play Music you can download the greatest selling album of all time, Thriller by Michael Jackson, for free.  No strings attached, not goofy coupon codes.  Free.  You just need to visit this link to add the special Google Play Music version of the album to your library which you can then stream or download to listen to offline.

Thriller has some of Jackson’s best known songs including the title track, Billy Jean, Beat It and Pretty Young Thing.  Even if you are not a big Michael Jackson fan, this album is simply a must have for anyone who loves music (and I would argue you should also have U2’s Joshua Tree, AC/DCs Back in Black and Adel’s 21… but that’s for another post!).

Michael Jackson – Thriller – Free at Google Play Music