Wow, I nearly missed this story!
Google’s (GOOG) YouTube has a new function called the Music Discovery Project and Playlist Creation tool.
You type a band or artist’s name in, and up pops a list with that artist’s music videos. It has it all. Al Green, LCD Soundsystem, and even the 80’s metal band Autograph!
There’s no doubt that YouTube Disco adds yet another angle to the emerging Google vs. Apple (AAPL) rivalry.
The sound quality of a YouTube video isn’t exactly fit for an audiophile, but it doesn’t have to be… …it’s free! Besides, after a few songs, most people will get used to the lousy audio quality.
Using YouTube as a music-listening tool is nothing new, but the Disco tool is Google’s first effort as marketing it as such. If you don’t need all your music to be portable, it makes sense to get it on YouTube for free rather than buying it on iTunes.
YouTube Disco is most definitely cool. It’s easy to manage playlists and mix-and-match artists. I just wish I had this when I was a teenager and actually cared about new music. I was usually too broke to buy all the CD’s I wanted and I’d have been in heaven with what is basically a free jukebox with unlimited capacity.
There are just a few more features I’d like to see:
- An option for high-quality video when it’s available
- A sharing feature so you can send playlists to friends
- Some type of visualizer so your computers looks cool at a party
Beyond those very minor oversights, YouTube Disco is pretty awesome, and I have my Queen playlist going right now.
“All we hear is iTunes gaga…”
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