Google Inc. released its Play Music All-Access streaming service in Canada on Monday.
Canadians now have access to 25 million songs for almost $10 per month, according to CTV News.
The release of the service to Canada comes almost a year after the Internet search giant launched the service in the U.S., Mexico and Europe.
"We have had an incredible demand," said Zavanah Levine, director of Global Music Partnerships at Google. "Every time we launch Google Play in a new country or we launch a new feature in the United States, we receive a host of comments and emails from Canadians urging us to please come to Canada."
Users will also have access to digital radio channels that include different genres, as well as various playlists, through web stream and offline, CBC News reported.
Streaming music online using computers and mobile devices has increased in popularity recently, but many companies have not released music streaming services in Canada due to negotiations over royalties and rights.
"Google is bringing name recognition to a category that's already fairly oversubscribed," said Carmi Levy, technology analyst and journalist. "Everyone and his dog wants to get in onto the streaming music business. Google's only the latest player, but of course, we all pay attention because they are the 800-pound gorilla."
Tech expert Kris Abel said Google Play Music is different from other streaming services because it lets subscribers store up to 20,000 of their own songs in the cloud for free. Subscribers will also be able to listen to their own music along with Google's catalogue, CTV News reported.
"I think the approach that Google's taking is very good because it allows people to combine both their personal libraries as well as the online service," Abel said. "Most places don't do that. Everybody has built up this collection of MP3s on their computer. They don't want to just toss that away, they want to combine it with the new service."
The service will be available for $7.99 for users who sign up before June 30. Google is offering deals on popular Canadian albums such as Neil Young's "Harvest" and Bryan Adams' "Reckless", for $1.49, to celebrate the country receiving Play Music.
