Google pushes “time to music”

Finally, a search function tailor-made for music fans.

For years, whenever I’ve wanted to learn more about a band or artist, I’ve had to go through a laborious, multi-step process to find my answers. The best example is when I hear a new song on the radio but don’t know who the band is. However, I do remember a line from a verse, or a chorus, perhaps.

When I get home I plug the lyrics into a Google search and see what I get. Once I narrow down the artist, then I typically have to embark on a separate search to identify a second or third website just to listen to the song and learn more about the composer(s). Getting to my destination is a hard-fought victory, and I know I’m not the only one who compulsively does this — you all know who you are.

Well, imagine combining all of those steps into one. One search field, one website, no scouring the Internet for minutes (or hours, in some cases). Wouldn’t that be nice? Yesterday Google announced such a search feature, and the possibilities are tantalizing. 

To accomplish this task, Google has partnered with MySpace, Lala, imeem, Pandora, and Rhapsody to more efficiently produce relevant results for music queries. Like any Web engine search, there is a “time to result” involved when searching certain information. Google and its partners call it “time to music,” and they hope to drastically reduce it.

It works like this: You enter a music-related search on Google. Up pops a list of results that includes links to preview and purchase music, thanks to MySpace and Lala. Also included are links to similar artists you might consider checking out as well, thanks to imeem, Pandora, and Rhapsody.

With two of the top-10 Web searches having something to do with music, it makes sense that Google would invest in such an enhanced offering. The record labels seem to like the idea as well (at least we haven’t seen litigation… yet).

As of press time, the function wasn’t formally available to try out. Still, I have high hopes that it revolutionizes how fans find new music. And hopefully it brings a little more recognition to deserving artists.