According to the investment analysts at Bear Stearns, "Google is in the midst of creating its own iTunes competitor." Google has been using the money it raised in last year's IPO to blitz the Internet with new services that have included a news feed reader, desktop utilities, video search, instant messaging and now a competitor to Apple's award winning music download service. With the incredible amounts of cash that Apple is pulling in from iTunes, and with the number of competitors snapping at their heels, it was only a matter of time before Google set their sights on grabbing a chunk of that revenue.
I think that just as important is the huge amounts of publicity and good will that Apple has been garnering from iTunes. Google has been getting the 'darling' status themselves from their dominance in the search market and it puts them in a unique position to attack the 'hearts and minds' of iTunes users. While other music download sites seem to have the "johnny come lately" feel, it seems like a natural extension to Google's push to provide a "complete" web experience.
Whatever the truth of the matter, it's enough to support Bear Stearns' $550 target for Google's stock. How many web companies have been able to hold those kinds of numbers? Not many.
Google May Be Close To Developing iTunes Competitor - Forbes.com
