Google admits music shindig, but denies music store rumor

Google on Tuesday said it was holding a music industry networking event on Thursday but denied that it was part of any plans to develop a music store.

"This is a networking event, typical of networking events we hold across a variety of industries and topic areas," Google said in an e-mail statement. "We have no plans at this time to develop a music store. Google offers a music search feature to provide users faster access to music-related information they are searching for. We offer users links to third-party sites where they can purchase music if they'd like to."

The comment was in response to questions about a report on PaidContent.org that said Google was holding an invite-only music roundtable Thursday at the Googleplex with 20 top music industry executives. "Not sure what they'll talk about, but I'm assuming it is one of two things or both: Google explaining its plans for a music vertical and/or seeking education about the music industry and how Google fits into it," the blog posting said.

In January, Google denied that it was planning to develop a music store or acquire Napster as some analysts had speculated.