Google is planning to launch a music search service with music sites Lala and MySpace-owned iLike, according to multiple reports.
So far, all that’s official is the fact that Lala, iLike, and unspecified “others” are holding an event titled “Discover Music” next week in Los Angeles. But it sounds like Google will be there.
With this new service, you’ll be able to search for a musician, then play songs streamed from partner sites like Lala and iLike. CNET describes the goal as providing “everything a music fan may need when searching online for a favorite artist,” while TechCrunch says the pages will be modeled on Google’s results for public company searches.
This sounds like a smart move for both Google and the music companies, giving Google a cool new service without requiring the search giant to host the music or strike deals with the record labels on its own, while bringing more exposure to Lala and iLike. The question is whether this will be a serious threat to other music startups. Maybe not — for starters, this service seems focused on search, rather than the more social aspects of music-finding, leaving room for other services.
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I’ve emailed the organizer of the Lala/iLike event for comment but haven’t heard back yet. Google, as usual, says it doesn’t comment on rumors.
