Baidu
China's leading search engine will now be able to legally distribute the digital music of Sony
Baidu launched a legal music service earlier this year, after joining Sohu.com's
This isn't meant to excuse Baidu and its smaller peers. They have clearly profited from the searches for illegal downloads by serving up ads alongside the organic query results. However, it's not as if China's search engines are evil label busters.
Thankfully, providing legal downloads has become an attractive business, even if stateside streaming champ Pandora
Baidu's music site is called ting!, though it can't be confused with Apple's
The best thing about the far-reaching content-licensing deal announced today is that it will help Baidu deflect label criticisms and legal implications. Baidu now has a legal option it can feature prominently, without necessarily inconveniencing its users who are interested in free music.
Baidu has come around, even if it took a few years of singing lessons to hit the right key.
What do you see as the future of music distribution? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.