Google search is now pulling lyrics into search results with a little help from its Knowledge Graph and the Google Play Store.
Now, if you perform a basic search for, say, Smells Like Teen Spirit lyrics, the results will pull up a song sheet with a link to the full lyrics on Google Play.
For users, it offers a much simpler solution, bereft of the annoying advertisements. However, it isn’t such good news for the websites whose pages will not be completely bypassed by Google’s offering.
It is not yet clear when Google began showing the lyrics and they’re not yet appearing for all well-known songs. TechCrunch says Google began beta-testing the feature a couple of months ago, so it’s possible more countries and songs will be added as time rolls on.
Google’s decision to build lyrics into results comes a couple of months after Microsoft did the same with Bing.
The firm already uses its ‘knowledge boxes’ to answer questions, provide quick information and related searches without users having to gravitate beyond the results page.
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With Google pointing users to the firm’s own music store, it is likely to lead to more accusations the company is using its dominant position in the search market to point users to its own content portals.
Anyway, that’s for the regulators to decide. Altogether now… “Hold me closer, Tony Danza…”
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
