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Google wants Apple Music to play on Chromecast Audio … but Apple is silent for now

During the announcement of Google’s Chromecast Audio yesterday, the company made sure to mention that music subscription leader Spotify will soon be one of the many music streaming services supported by the platform. With many Apple Music subscriptions renewing (or not renewing) and Google unveiling a $35 dongle that retrofits our existing home speakers with Wi-Fi, some are rightfully wondering: What about Apple Music?

According to statements from one Googler (via TrustedReviews), Google has no bar on any platform joining in on supporting Chromecast, and the Mountain View company has already directly asked Apple to play along…

Chromecast Audio will support a plethora of third-party apps on the iOS platform at launch, but Apple Music noticeably isn’t one of them. Google says it isn’t putting any blocks in the way, though: “We have an open SDK, and any developer can write to that SDK to support cast,” said the Google US representative. “So if Apple does that, then it supports iTunes Music.”

Meanwhile, Apple is developing an Android app for Apple Music, a move many saw as unprecedented for the company. Before that, I would have said that native Chromecast support for Apple Music — especially in light of Apple’s competing AirPlay — would be out of the question.

Tim Cook’s Apple has surprised me, though, and Apple Music definitely wouldn’t be the first app to support both platforms simultaneously. Following Beats Music which Apple bought and used as the foundation for Apple Music, Apple has promised Apple Music support on Sonos before the end of the year so similar Chromecast Audio support isn’t impossible to envision.

Alongside Chromecast Audio yesterday, Google also announced the 2nd generation Chromecast, the Pixel C, the Nexus 5X, and the Nexus 6P. Google also made competitive moves toward Apple with the latest version of its Chromecast app, which lets users sift through content in many the same ways that the new Apple TV does — it even includes voice search. For more, be sure to head over to our full roundup of Google’s announcements.

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Comments

  1. hmmm i see Apple bringing AirPlay as an Apple Music exclusive in Android
    anyways, i hope they release Apple Music on Android ASAP, i need my music back

  2. PhilBoogie - 9 years ago

    What would the incentive for Apple be? They have their Apple Music, their Airplay, their devices to play music from and sell a plethora of 3rd party speakers. Why the heck should they partner with Google? That Apple is going to support Sonos later this year is understandable.

    • Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 9 years ago

      What an odd response. The incentive is blatantly obvious – it would please customers.

      Open is always better than closed, and the more choice the better. Apple need to get that Google chip off their shoulder once and for all.

      • Mosha - 9 years ago

        You’re a moron.

      • epicflyingcat - 9 years ago

        Apple prioritising usability over slightly opening up its locked ecosystem? Hahaha never going to happen.

      • I’m not renewing my apple music subscription because I can’t stream to my chromcasts easily. I have 2 chromecasts, 2 airport expresses (streaming airplay). I can stream google play or spotify to any of the devices but I cannot stream apple music to the chromecasts. In the past Apple has kept its OS closed to keep its UI under control (e.g., to help usability), as of late (apple maps comes to mind) they seem to be keeping things closed more for proprietary reasons.

    • taoprophet420 - 9 years ago

      Who knows how the contracts are drawn up between Apple and the record labels. Apple didn’t have home sharing built it o iOS 8.4 when the released Apple Music, most likely do to the record labels.

    • Bharat Knv - 9 years ago

      The incentive would be to prove to their customers that they(the customers) matter more to Apple than these petty inter company squabbles. Another show of good faith would be to include Chromecast support in the native video player but let’s take it one step at a time.

    • Bharat Knv - 9 years ago

      The incentive would be to prove that Apple’s customers matter more to them than these petty squabbles. Another show of good faith would be adding Chromecast support to the native video player, but let’s take it one step at a time.

    • chriswolfvision - 8 years ago

      I have Android _AND_ Apple devices and I am not alone. A standard working with both types of devices is plain necessary.

  3. Louis Veillette - 9 years ago

    Ever tried mixcloud.com ? After both Apple’s iTunes store and Music let me down on multiple occasions, I looked for a simple site, but with music mixed by regular humans, instead of “curated” by some dumb AI system, and a few big names DJs. I was also looking for a site that’s legit and pays its fees on the music streamed, and that would play nicely in all my browsers and platforms. And I think i found it. I haven’t tried it with Chromecast audio, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t work as well as in a browser.

  4. gkbrown - 9 years ago

    Google has the right idea. For years, I’ve been hoping Apple would release a cheaper alternative to the Airport Express for audio-only AirPlay streaming. They still haven’t done it. Maybe they will now…

  5. James Cude - 9 years ago

    Hehe- “Apple is silent”. Why on earth does Apple *have* to respond to anything Google wants? If you want Google stuff buy Google stuff….

    • taoprophet420 - 9 years ago

      Might be smart to play nice if they want Google to allow Apple Music on their App Store.

      • Sebastian - 9 years ago

        Lolz, why wouldn’t they allow it?

  6. Vincent Lauro - 9 years ago

    I think Google shouldn’t let apple make an app for apple music if google can’t support apple music with chromecast.

  7. pureemily - 9 years ago

    Apple Music Songs are DRM protected. It seems that you cannot stream the music to Chromecast for enjoying. I am using NoteBurner to help me out: http://www.noteburner.com/mac-itunes-drm-audio-converter.html

Author

Avatar for Stephen Hall Stephen Hall

Stephen is Growth Director at 9to5. If you want to get in touch, follow me on Twitter. Or, email at stephen (at) 9to5mac (dot) com, or an encrypted email at hallstephenj (at) protonmail (dot) com.


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