14 DAY TRIAL // If you thought the online music business was already crowded, it seems like the flood gates are just beginning to open. The latest rumor is that Hewlett-Packard is thinking about getting a piece of the pie with its own music and video locker service and possibly stores as well.
There's been a lot of talk about several big tech companies getting into the online music space. Amazon, Google and Apple have all launched music locker services, which enable users to store their tunes online, each with a slightly different set of features, but all three largely offering the same functionality.
Billboard says that the company is in early talks with the music labels about a cloud service, though it's too early to tell what exactly the service will be. HP is said to be interested in offering a cloud service for music, movies and TV shows.
The service may be a simple cloud locker, which enables users to store their stuff online and possibly stream music and movies without downloading them, but it could also have a store tied in, like Amazon.
The last part comes from some leaked HP info which talked about music sync and some sort of music store. But HP is not sure itself what it wants to build, the talks are very early at this point, so don't expect anything happening very soon.
Not that HP is new at this, it has tried and failed to launch some sort of music service for the better part of the last decade. This time around, the context seems right, but the competition is heating up as well.
Despite the interest, nobody has nailed the online music business yet, everyone is trying different things, but not a single company has made big money selling, streaming or storing music online, not even Apple with its iTunes store.