Compared to Baidu, Google is still lacking market share in China, THE key market for the Future. So now, as the Wall Street Journal reports, Google will team up with Top100.cn to provide free yet fully legal MP3 downloads of music, with backing by the major labels to be very likely (hey... what do they have to lose in China..?). Using free music to attract users to use their search engine and see their advertising - sounds familiar?
Says the WSJ: "The service, which is likely to offer access to tunes from three global music companies as well as dozens of smaller players, could start in the next several weeks barring any last-minute hiccups. The music pact marks a turning point in Google's battle with Baidu to gain dominance in an Internet market that is soon expected to surpass the U.S. this year in number of users..."
The WSJ goes on: "In principle, search engines provide search for people to access music more efficiently. In a broader way, that's a good thing," says Catherine Leung, general manager of Universal Music China. "It's the links and encouraging people to download illegal content that's a bad thing..." That's where the Google effort comes in. Vivendi SA's Universal Music and about 100 other foreign and domestic record labels have been working with Top100.cn, a Beijing-based Web site that currently sells licensed music downloads for 1 yuan (about 14 cents) each, and Google. Together, Top100.cn and Google would provide free MP3 downloads with value added services, people familiar with the plans say. The new search options, for example, promise to give users free access to a database of information about their favorite artists -- from concert listings to links to special ring tones..."
My comment: paying for the music with advertising and by UP-SELLING and offering value-added services - finally, it's here. And if in China, why not in other developing countries and so-called second-world territories?
As I have commented many times before, content license fees can be covered by revenues from Search and Advertising - there is enough money in this to make it work.
This is why the Google China thing a big deal: what we have here is the first embodiment of FREE MUSIC IN RETURN FOR ATTENTION - something the readers of my blog should be quiet familiar with. Techcrunch has a good comment on this, too: "The move into music provision would be a first for Google, and although this deal is directly in response to Baidu, there is always the possibility that with one territory in place, complete with joint venture partner and music deals, that Google could roll this out into other countries in the future.."
On another note, the WSJ says: "Google has not provided any unlicensed links to music products in China even though avoiding music has put the company at a disadvantage..." This, unfortunately, is further evidence for my previous argument (last.fm etc) that as far as music is concerned being legal seems to be a serious disadvantage. What a paradox - hope Google can now break thru that.
And here is a funny BAIDU commercial making fun of Google trying to make it in China
