Google is reportedly offering to pay the record labels tens of millions of dollars in advances so they'll sign off on a Google Music service. For now, the focus is on a Google online music locker, but a Spotify or Rhapsody style streaming service will follow.
Google's in house music technology lawyer Elizabeth Moody has just started negotiating with music publishers regarding the service; in part because even big checks haven't encouraged record labels to agree. Publicly the labels say they want the service, but are concerned that lockers will also store pirated goods and contend that online storage constitutes an additional use that they should be paid for.
To get into the streaming subscription side of music, Google reportedly considered buying Rhapsody (a story that Hypebot broke weeks ago), but "the deal was scuttled by internal politicking: at least three groups were fighting for control of Google Music and couldn't agree on how to proceed," according to SF Gate.
