Google + Lala.com = free music on demand

[Ace Purple]

I'm not sure how long this will last, but I've found today that doing a Google search for a song name brings up, at the very top, a link to listen to the song, on demand, for free. Quality sounds 128 kbps but I'm hardly an expert at that.

It doesn't require perfection in the title, or even the complete title at that. Google is smart like that.

To test it, I put in the phrase Don't Lose That Number, did a search, and look what came up first:



It doesn't work for everything (e.g. Penny Lane by The Beatles), but I found it to be an interesting advancement. Blip.fm has had similar options for people listening via their computer, but this is the first time I've seen something like this integrated so strongly into Google's search results.

[AmpedNow]

Something just occurred to me...

With their Android devices getting ready to flood the marketplace, maybe they are eyeing a web-based music platform.

They recently kicked the GPS industry in the gut with the announcement of free GPS with Google maps on their Android devices... A "free music" platform would once again change everything about music distribution.

If I was Apple, Microsoft, Rhaposody, etc., I would be really nervous about now...

Another side topic is how would this affect music-driven radio stations.

[Ace Purple]

Worth noting: you can play a song once, then it's just a :30 preview. Though, by changing web browsers, you can listen to a song a few times.

[cgarison]

Lala.com has been a music service that has been without a business model for the last 3 years. Would linking itself with Google change that?

[sportsvoice]

Something just occurred to me...

With their Android devices getting ready to flood the marketplace, maybe they are eyeing a web-based music platform.

They recently kicked the GPS industry in the gut with the announcement of free GPS with Google maps on their Android devices... A "free music" platform would once again change everything about music distribution.

If I was Apple, Microsoft, Rhaposody, etc., I would be really nervous about now...

Another side topic is how would this affect music-driven radio stations.

I have an unlocked Android phone on Cincinnati Bell Wireless. The GPS + Google Maps feature is neat when it works, but it's useless in areas where there is no 3g service because it takes an eternity to load the maps. Also, the map data doesn't store locally on the phone, so "no service" also means no map to go with your GPS coordinates.

[nitchg]

Better than Google for finding songs to listen to the whole version, snippets, plus download free is http://www.dizzler.com
I use google to find lyrics, for example I search : lyrics rikki don't lose that number, or lyrics: lyrics I heard you're leaving that's OK. If you have the title or even a few of the lyrics google will find the lyrics and tell you the name of the song in case you don't know, and the lyrics page will tell you the name if google doesn't. Listening is always free at dizzler. I have found full version of 98% of the songs I search for. Download is free via realplayer. Realplayer lets you download not only music from many websites but all videos on any site as far as I can tell.
Apparently it is legal. Dizzler does not contain any music but searches the net for any streaming music and if it finds what you requested then it plays it. It may not be fair to the musician, but frankly I can't see any different in listening and recording from the internet to listening and recording off the radio, technology notwithstanding. I don't mind if it's mp3 instead of wav or whatever. As for realplayer, I guess the ability to download is never illegal, it's who downloads what for why, that might make it illegal under certain circumstances.

[AmpedNow]

Lala.com has been a music service that has been without a business model for the last 3 years. Would linking itself with Google change that?

I signed up for Lala tonight just to check it out.

Here are the basics:

Over 8 million titles to choose from. First play of any song is free.

10 cents buys you unlimited plays per song from the "cloud". DRM-free mp3s range from $.10 - $1.29.

If you have your own mp3s, you can upload them to the service. You can then listen to your music library from anywhere with an internet connection. It will stream it back to you. It also gives you a web-based backup.

It syncs with Facebook and Twitter. In Twitter fashion, you can follow and have followers.

As for the business model, it doesn't seem too bad... Probably what they lack is a huge advertising budget to get them noticed. Partnering with Google couldn't hurt.

If anything, they're likely ahead of the curve with the web-based "cloud" concept. It's how we'll all be computing and consuming media, eventually...

That's all I know for now.

[AmpedNow]

Sharp curve ahead.

Apple just bought them up.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/04/wsj- ... e-of-lala/

Maybe this confirms my original response to this thread... Google is getting ready to launch a web-based/Android music service, and Apple is in defense mode.

Now let's see what happens to the business model.