Google Purchases Several Music and Cloud-Themed Domain Names

Google (News - Alert) recently bought up a number of .com domain addresses that combine to provide a singular theme: cloud-based music.

Earlier this week, the search engine giant felt inclined to register several interesting music-related domain names, including GoogleBass.com, GoogleAlto.com, GoogleSoprano.com and GoogleTenor.com, according to Tech Crunch. On the same day, Google picked up a few cloud-related addresses like GoogleNebula.com, GoogleThunder.com and GoogleLightning.com.

While the move itself sounds rather insignificant, the domain purchases could lend further credence to the mounting rumor that Google is preparing to launch a cloud-based music-streaming service.

The much-rumored offering has been talked about for nearly a year now, but has yet to come to fruition. However, speculation reached an all-time tipping point recently when CNET reported that the service dubbed Google Music is being tested and is nearly ready to launch.

The news source indicated that Google is currently going through the oddly named process known as dog-fooding, where they let their employees try out the new service to check for bugs and proper functionality.

CNET also reported that the launch date of the service has been delayed by several months due to a lack of agreements with major record labels and music publishers. Apparently, Google is going after cloud music rights, not just the songs themselves. Moreover, the company is hoping to obtain the right to store a user's existing library of music on Google servers.

"Licensing rights for digital lockers of this sort is largely uncharted territory for the labels," wrote Greg Sandoval of CNET. "There are no templates for these kinds of deals lying around and the record companies want to move cautiously as they assess Apple's (News - Alert) and Google's plans."

Google Music rumors began to gain even more momentum yesterday when a website called TechFrom10.com – which is now offline – posted alleged screen shots of the application.

We will have to wait and see if the domain names that Google recently bought are related to the reported music service, and if so, when they will be launched.

Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Janice McDuffee