Photo: Google
Google has announced plans to now show lyrics in the results when you search for songs using their website, bypassing the need to visit lyric websites.
As TechCrunch reports, Google will now display the words to songs above search results if you append "song lyrics" on to the song's title, and if said track is in Google's Play Store.
"There's a feeling you get when you turn to a song and you know that the words have two meanings," said Google in a somewhat playful statement. "Well it's whispered that now if you go search the tune, maybe Google will lead you to reason. Ooh, it makes you wonder..."
However, many critics across the internet have slammed the search engine for dictating somewhat of monolopy on information - potentially bringing an end to some of the web's biggest lyric websites.
Darryl Ballantyne, CEO at LyricFind, a company that licenses lyrics to third parties like Pandora, SoundHound, Shazam and others, explained to TechCrunch what impact this could have on the wider web.
"However, many sites also build community around the lyrics, which Google won’t replace,” he said. “Sites like SongMeanings and MetroLyrics are more than just SEO farms; I expect they’ll continue to post impressive traffic numbers.” Similarly one suspects that even with Google's dominance, site's like the excellent genius.com will survive through offering so much more to their readers.
So why has Google announced this now? Well we don't like to guess, but suspecting the launch of the annual Mishead Song Lyrics edition may have something to do with it...
