Looks like Google is ready to spend some money again and this time their sights are set on Songza to the tune (if you will pardon the pun) of $15 million dollars. Songza is a popular music streaming app, competing with big names like Spotify and Pandora, with an emphasis on curation so that you can find exactly the song you want at exactly the moment you need it. Where services like Pandora try to find your new favourite song by making matches based on your existing preferences, Songza takes a play-list style approach, matching song selection to your activities (like exercising or trying to relax).
Because Google already has their Google Play Music service in place, the assumption is that this acquisition would be all about curation –making their existing offering smarter and more value added.
If the deal solidifies and finalizes, this new relationship for Google wouldn’t come long after Apple paid $3 billion for Beats (with $500 million of that price directed toward the streaming component), a company often praised for having strong curation in their music streaming app. With Pandora currently valued at $5 billion and Spotify coming in at $4 billion, Songza seems like a true bargain –especially if it gives Google any kind of leg up on their competition.
