There has been talk of a music service for AT&T users from Beats Audio and we already know that Cricket Wireless offers Muve Music. Looking forward though, it appears as if Verizon Wireless users may be getting Google Play Music All Access. Coming by way of Billboard, there is word that Google and Verizon are currently in talks to offer this as a bundled service option.
The details aren’t yet public and instead are coming by way of “executives knowledgeable with the discussions.” The catch here, while it seems the talks are underway, there also appears to still be plenty left to iron out. Or in other words, it seems as if it may still be some time before Verizon users will be able to bundle in an All Access account. To further that point, it was mentioned that the talks are still in the “early stages.” Part of the discussion is on payments.
Otherwise, it seems clear that Google will benefit from this arrangement. It was said the All Access service currently has between 250,000 and 500,000 users, though some of those are still under the trial period. With Verizon having roughly 100 million subscribers, that All Access subscriber number could jump considerably for Google. This could also be seen as a perk for the customer as the billing would be rolled into the regular Verizon service.
Aside from payments, it also appears as if some of the talk deals with the free trial periods. Or more specifically, who is going to cover the cost of those periods. Basically, the royalties still need to be paid, even if the user isn’t yet paying. Further details point towards Verizon not wanting to pick up the tab, but also towards Google as pushing this as a way for Verizon to attract new customers.
Bottom line here, assuming the details can be worked out, this could be a win-win-win for Google, Verizon and the users. Of course, that assumes the details do get worked out and All Access accounts do come available through Verizon. Otherwise, this isn’t the first time we have had Google Play Music mentioned in conjunction with Verizon. Those remembering back to the recent DROID announcement will likely remember anyone picking up one of those three handsets will get 6-months of All Access for free.
