Google Inc. has announced the launch of a free music search site in China that directs users to legal downloads. In an attempt to curb the high levels of piracy within our good old Olympics host its estimated that 99 percent of all music files distributed in China are pirated, and despite their massive population, the Chinese market accounts for less than one percent of legit global music sales Google has teamed with record label backers to create an ad sponsored site that allows users to stream and download legal tracks for free.
The idea is that advertising revenue will compensate for the fact that no one is paying for the music, and that access to fast, quality downloads and accurate search results will awaken the sleeping giant that is the Chinese music market. The site is at Top100.cn, but don't get too excited because you can't access the website outside of China.
Instead, youve got to wait until youre sitting on the biggest potential consumer economy in history, apparently, before youll be thrown bones like this to come to the table.
The idea is that advertising revenue will compensate for the fact that no one is paying for the music, and that access to fast, quality downloads and accurate search results will awaken the sleeping giant that is the Chinese music market. The site is at Top100.cn, but don't get too excited because you can't access the website outside of China.
Instead, youve got to wait until youre sitting on the biggest potential consumer economy in history, apparently, before youll be thrown bones like this to come to the table.