July 8, 2014

Google acquires Songza

It was recently reported that Google has acquired Songza, a streaming music service. According to an article in TechCrunch, users will be able to continue using Songza, but Google will also be using it to make improvements to some of its other services such as YouTube and Google Play Music.

Songza offers a streaming music service that creates curated playlists, allowing users to choose playlists for different situations in life, much like a soundtrack. This is one of the features that sets the service apart from others in the market, according to TechCrunch. 

"No immediate changes to Songza are planned, other than making it faster, smarter, and even more fun to use," said Songza on the company's blog.

A recent article in Forbes notes that the human aspect Songza uses to create playlists sets it apart from other streaming services like Pandora and Spotify. According to the article, this helps the service provide a level of personalization, and Google may also be interested in applying this type of personalization to its other services, as mentioned previously. 

Although big data has had a hand in shaping much of today's technology, it is important to remember the human aspect of things, and this seems to be something Google may be recognizing through this acquisition strategy

With Apple's recent acquisition of Beats Music, Google may also be looking to stay competitive in the market by acquiring Songza. As we have discussed previously, sometimes acquisitions are for the purpose of enhancing a company's position in the market and ensuring that it stands up against other competitors. By acquiring Songza, Google obtains a unique streaming service and the capabilities that will help it enhance its other services.