Google digital music store to launch soon, says Andy Rubin

Google has confirmed that it is on the verge of launching an online music store.

Andy Rubin, vice president of the search engine firm, announced at the AsiaD conference in Hong Kong that they are almost ready to roll out an iTunes equivalent service.

Google released the beta version of its cloud-based 'Music by Google' platform earlier this year, but have been unable to sell music through it because major record labels and publishers are not on board.

"Look, we're a different company. We're in the very early phases of adding consumer products," said Rubin. "The media companies saw us as a search company, not as what we really are. We'll see the benefits of that really soon."

Rubin went on to say that Google's digital music store will feature "a little twist", adding that it "won't just be buying songs for 99 cents".

Google was expected to launch a service called 'Google Music' with its Android 3.0 update last year, but failure to agree terms with record companies is thought to have hampered the venture.

Previous reports suggested that EMI is close to striking up a deal with Google. Talks with Universal, Sony and Warner are said to be ongoing.