The Google Channel

August 06, 2008

Google launched in China a search service for free downloads of licensed music, challenging search Web site Baidu.com for Internet search market share in China.

Baidu currently dominates the search market in China, but has run a gauntlet of lawsuits alleging that Baidu assists users in copyright infringement by providing access to downloads of unlicensed music.

An estimated 99 percent of all music downloads distributed in China are pirated, according to the International Federation of Phonographic Industry.

In China, Baidu has about a 63 percent Internet search market share, while Google only holds 26 percent, despite the fact Google dominates global search market share, according to data from iResearch, Reuters reported.

Google's new music search will let Web users search Chinese songs by artist and title and download the songs from Top100.cn. Top100.cn is a Chinese music Website that was co-founded by Chinese basketball player Yao Ming. The music search will share revenue among Top100.cn and the company's music partners.

"The Internet industry should by no means stand in the opposite camp against the music industry," Google China President Kai-fu Lee said in a statement, Reuters reported. "Google always believes profoundly that mutual interest, rather than monopoly, is the key to sustainable growth."