Google vs. Apple: Whose Music Service Will Arrive First?

New evidence suggests that Google GOOG will launch a brand-new, Spotify-inspired music service, beating its chief competitor to the market. For several months, Apple AAPL has been rumored to be working on a streaming music service of its own. Instead of allowing users to play whatever they want, whenever they want, Apple's service is largely believed to carry an online radio format that will compete head-on with Pandora P. According to separate reports from The Verge and The New York Times, several insiders have confirmed that Google will unveil its music service today. Sony Music SNE, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group are reportedly on board. If true, Google should be able to launch its service with a fairly impressive list of albums. At the very least, most of the mainstream acts -- from Adele and Jay-Z to Brad Paisley and Eminem -- should be present. Classic artists like The Beatles (who has yet to bring its full catalogue to Spotify and have only recently brought its music to iTunes) may be harder to come by. Aside from Apple and the existing slate of competitors, Google could face two primary issues when it launches its music service. First, The Verge report stated that Google has signed separate licensing deals for both YouTube and Google Play, indicating that it will offer two entirely different music services. This could only lead to chaos, as illustrated by AllThingsD. Second, The New York Times' many sources claimed that Google has no plans to offer a free version of its music service. This could make it very difficult for the company to compete against Spotify, which allows American consumers to stream all the ad-supported music they desire. Worldwide, the service has 24 million users -- including six million who pay for the ad-free version of the service. This is not Google's first venture into the world of paid entertainment. The company launched an iTunes clone more than a year ago via Google Play. Most recently Google confirmed its plans to offer a wide array of paid YouTube channels. Those channels, which mostly consist of new and unknown startups, are now available. Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at 248-636-1322 or louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ