Google buys music streaming service Songza

Google has acquired the music streaming service Songza, which recommends playlists to users based on the time, weather and location of the user. Google wants to integrate the functionality of the streaming service with its own music streaming service.

Google says it will ‘explore’ how it can integrate the functionality of Songza into Google Play Music. The company will also look at how it can use the work of the Songza team in YouTube and other Google products, although they are not mentioned by name. In the meantime, Songza will keep the doors of its own music streaming service open, although Google does not explicitly exclude that Songza will eventually cease to exist as a separate streaming service.

It is unknown how much Google will pay for the company. Earlier it was rumored that Google would like to put fifteen million dollars on the table for the company, but TechCrunch notes that Songza would also have been approached by other companies; that would have increased the price considerably. According to The New York Times, Google ultimately paid $39 million, or nearly $29 million, for the company.

Songza, which has 5.5 million active users, was founded in 2007 and allows users to listen to playlists of music composed by music journalists and DJs, among others. In addition, it recommends playlists to users based on its circumstances, such as the local time, the user’s location, and the weather at that location. Google is probably mainly interested in the latter functionality.