Move Over Apple, Google's Got Its Own Streaming Service

Online music streaming has quickly gained popularity over the years with services like Pandora Media Inc P and Spotify expanding their user base.

Now, big names like Apple Inc. AAPL and Google Inc GOOG are entering the space in hopes of building off of their existing popularity and conquering the streaming industry.

Apple Faces Difficulty

With just a week to go before Apple debuted its new $9.99 per month streaming service, the company ran into some problems with its three-month free trial offer after Taylor Swift openly criticized Apple's decision not to pay royalties for content played during that time. Swift apologized to fans and withheld her latest album from being used by Apple's service, which pushed the electronics giant to backtrack and promise to pay artists.

Related Link: Billy Corgan: Music Business, Apple Keep 'Making The Same Mistake Over And Over Again'

Google Moves In

The incident with Swift may have served to benefit Apple as it brought a lot of attention to next week's Apple Music rollout. However, Google managed to steal much of Apple's thunder this week when the company launched its own free streaming service on Tuesday in hopes that it would entice customers to eventually upgrade to the paid version.

Google's new service will be free of charge, but to eliminate ads, listen to music off-line or gain access to certain songs, users will have to upgrade to Google Play Music— a $9.99 monthly charge.

Who Will Come Out On Top?

With the music streaming space getting increasingly crowded, it's difficult to judge which service will come out on top. Many are betting on Apple based on the company's past success in the music industry with iTunes, but others say services like Pandora and Spotify, which are already well known for music streaming, may have already cornered the market.