Google Play Music scan and match coming as soon as this week (Update)

CNET defined the scan-and-match feature as “a process whereby a user’s music can be stored on the computer servers of a host service,” and it said the service could then online stream songs to “web-connected music players” to save users from “the time-consuming process of uploading each individual track to a host’s servers.”

Google was apparently set to unveil the feature today at a media event in New York City, but the impending havoc of Hurricane Sandy caused the search engine to cancel plans.

CNET previously reported that Google was close to “obtaining the licenses it needed to launch the service,” but Google will now launch the scan-and-match feature first in Europe, according to the website’s sources, with a United States landing scheduled for soon after.

It is not clear at this time if Google will offer the feature for free.

UPDATE: Google just unveiled three new additions to its Nexus lineup in a blog post on the official Google blog, where it further unveiled new Google Play content. Twentieth Century Fox movies—with new purchasing ability introduced for Canada, U.K., France, Spain, and Australia—are officially coming to the Google Play library. Google is also working with Time, Inc., to bring People, Time, and more popular publications to its marketplace.

As for music, the search giant partnered with Warner Music Group to include the label’s full catalog of songs and artists. It even confirmed the rumored scan-and-match feature would soon launch free:

Related articles:

• Check Google Crisis Map for latest on Hurricane Sandy
• Nexus 10 available Nov. 13 starting at $399
• Official: LG Nexus 4 lands Nov. 13 for $299 with wireless charging
• Google’s Oct. 29 media event in New York cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy
• Google confirms 32GB Nexus 7 and adds HSPA+ compatibility

On November 13, we’re bringing music on Google Play to Europe.  Those of you in the U.K, France, Germany, Italy and Spain will be able to purchase music from the Google Play store and add up to 20,000 songs—for free—from your existing collection to the cloud for streaming to your Android devices or web browser. We’re also launching our new matching feature to streamline the process of uploading your personal music to Google Play. We’ll scan your music collection and any song we match against the Google Play catalog will be automatically added to your online library without needing to upload it, saving you time. This will be available in Europe at launch on November 13 and is coming to the U.S. soon after. This will all be for free—free storage of your music, free matching, free syncing across your devices and free listening.