Google's New 'Cast For Audio' Will Stream Music To Speakers, But Not Spotify Or Apple's Beats Music

Google is hoping to replicate the success of Chromecast, its $35 video-streaming dongle, in the music streaming market with Google Cast for audio, a new technology announced Monday at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Google Cast for audio will be integrated directly into select Internet-connected speakers, allowing users to stream songs from Web services through their sound systems. Users will be able to choose songs and services using apps on their smartphones, tablets and laptops.

"Simply tap the cast button in your favorite music app on Android, iOS or the Web, and select a Google Cast Ready speaker to get the party started," Google said in a blog.

The new technology will begin rolling out this spring in upcoming speakers by Sony, LG and Denon. Users will be able to stream audio from Deezer, Google Play Music, iHeartRadio, NPR One, Pandora, Rdio, TuneIn and others, according to Google. Notably missing are Apple's Beats Music and Spotify, the two main rivals to Google Play Music and YouTube Music Key, which Google announced in November.

Chromecast, which launched in 2013, plugs into users' TV HDMI ports, allowing them to stream content from services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, HBO GO and others. Last year, Chromecast supplanted Apple TV as the second-most-popular video-streaming device, behind only Roku.

Google's top foe in the audio-streaming market will be Sonos, which generated $535 million in revenue in 2013 from its Internet-connected speakers.