Looking for free music online in China just got a lot easier – and its legal! Google recently launched Music Onebox over at Google.cn to try and grab a larger percentage of the search market over in China according to the LA Times. Currently Baidu is the Chinese leader in search – one of its strongest features is music, however, most if which is illegal.
By providing a legal alternative Google hopes to snag some additional market share. According to a Google spokesperson: “We are launching Music Onebox to give users an easy and legal way to find the music they’re looking for, and to give music labels and publishers a new channel to distribute, promote and make money off of their valuable music content.”
When visitors at Google.cn perform a search for music they are directed to top100.cn where they can download and stream music. Ad revenue on the site is split between top100 and the record labels and publishers.
Baidu is currently under pressure due to music piracy issues, which gives Google the perfect opportunity to swoop in a grab what they can.