Talks between Google and the music labels apparently stalled

There has been a lot of talk recently about a possible move by Google into the music arena, or rather the talk has been ramping up, but Amazon’s recent launch of a music storage locker service may have thrown a monkey wrench in the discussions between Google and the music labels.

According to Peter Kafka at Media Memo the negotiations between the labels and Google are “broken” with Google possibly reconsidering their plans.

Google’s negotiations with the big music labels are “broken,” says a source familiar with the search giant’s thinking: “There’s definitely a problem with the Google music conversations.” Another industry source says Google’s top executives are reconsidering their music plans altogether. “They’ve gone backwards,” I’m told.

That may be news to some corners of the music industry. Google had representatives in New York last week to talk to the labels, and several label executives I’ve spoken to in recent days told me that they believed their negotiations were progressing smoothly and that they felt confident they would strike deals with Google soon.

But others contended that Google has changed its terms in the past few weeks and that has held up negotiations.

One has to wonder if this is one of the reasons why Amazon’s launch of their music locker happened when it did because the response by the music industry to Amazon’s service hasn’t been the most positive.