Google Inc. will soon let users buy songs or listen to them for free, right on its main results page, as part of a broader push to enhance the offerings on the leading search engine, according to several people familiar with the matter.
The music offerings, from four online music services, are to be packaged in what Google calls a "one box" at the top of a results page, similar to the site's presentation of weather and financial results.
Listeners will be able to stream an entire song via a link from La La Media Inc.'s Lala.com, or a sample from iLike.com. Users who want to purchase songs will be given the option to do so from either of those services, or from Apple Inc.'s iTunes Store or Amazon.com Inc. The music one box may also include an artist's image, lyrics and reviews or other "editorial" content.
The four major record labels—Warner Music Group Corp., EMI Group Ltd., Sony Corp.'s Sony Music Entertainment and Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group—have all licensed their catalogs for the initiative, which is expected to launch next week. Many independent labels also are expected to participate.
People familiar with the matter said revenue from sales would be split between the music services and the record labels. Google views the initiative as a way of improving its search system in order to retain users, not as a direct source of revenue.
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