Google TV Gets Google Music App

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Nov. 17 launched Google Music App for Google TV, a program that lets users play their Google Music collections in the background while they surf the Web or access other applications on their TV.

The application comes one day after Google launched Google Music, the company's streaming music service that lets users purchase and share some 13 million tracks from Universal Music, Sony Music and EMI Music.

The service syncs with Google's cloud, enabling users to play their music across desktops and Android smartphones and tablets without requiring cables or song downloads.

Google TV is an Android-based Web TV service that brings the Chrome browser and Web applications to users' HDTVs. Google TV underscores Google's view that the TV is simply another screen through which it can serve consumers its cloud-based services.

Bringing Google Music to Google TV, which already includes Google Search, YouTube, Chrome and dozens of third-party applications, is a natural extension of this plan to make the TV another mode for its Android platform.

Ideally, Google would love for consumers to watch a lot of YouTube on Google TV, affording the company greater advertising opportunities on the big screen.

Google Music App for Google TV is available for users who have the Android 3.1 Honeycomb update, which lets users download and access applications from the Android Market.

So far, the Honeycomb update is only available to Sony TVs running Google TV. Logitech Revue boxes have not received the Honeycomb upgrade as of yet.

Users can navigate to the Market to download the new application, log in with their Google account and stream their Music collection via their HDTV and stereo system the same way they would on their PC, smartphone or tablet. The application also lets users add a custom soundtrack to slideshows from the Photos application.