Google is trying to get a bit closer to Baidu, the number one search engine in China. Therefore it is offering the users of google.cn free music downloads. It is legal, because all copyright holders have given permission. Murad Ahmed of the Times Online wrote:
"The service is supported by 140 record labels, including the big four (Warner Music, Universal, EMO, Sony BMG), and will earn revenue from advertising on pages that let Chinese web users download or stream licensed music – 350,000 tracks are already available, with plans to have more than a million tracks within a few months. Warner Music said that it would make its entire global catalogue available as part of the deal." Read Mr Ahmed's article here.
Advertising seems to be the only feasible business model on the internet that has emerged and the music industry also wants to give it a try. The music industry might have realised that (to paraphrase Professor Lawrence Lessig in his excellent book Free Culture) to criminalise a whole generation is not the way to go forward.
There is no question about whether this business model decreases the urge to pirate copyrights, but the question is whether the music industry can survive this way. Is it a good idea, or will this turn out to be "operation succeeded, patient died"?
What do you think?
UPDATE1:
Also listen to/read the interview of Bob Garfield of On the Media with Greg Kot, author of the upcoming book 'Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music'.
Thanks for pointing out this interview Ron Yu of novacourses.com
UPDATE2:
Mira Veda wrote a nice article for the Huffington Post about it called 'Pirates Stealing Music in China ... US ... Everywhere', don't forget to read the commentaries below Ms Veda's article.
