Actually, I think the problem for Google is that the market is already pretty fragmented, depending on how you slice it, and shows no signs of vendor consolidat

Actually, I think the problem for Google is that the market is already pretty fragmented, depending on how you slice it, and shows no signs of vendor consolidation. In this particular case, Google's pushing hard on the flat side of the boulder; they are trying to strongarm audio technology companies (who, unlike software and media companies, don't have any preëxisting entanglements with most software and service platforms) over a set of Google services that don't hold a particularly commanding position in the market vis a vis Amazon. I just don't get why they think they're in a strong negotiating position here, except that they must assume that the Google brand is powerful enough to create its own Kool-Aid-based distortion field.