Search giant Google, has added a music search feature to its web search to put users in touch with a wide range of music information including artists, albums, song titles, links to music reviews and places to purchase music. This feature is similar to the links at the top of Google results, that they provided in the past for movies and weather.
When analyzing their traffic, Google found that a huge number of users conduct music-related searches. To better meet this need, they developed this feature to put users in touch with the information they're looking for faster, and with a user interface specifically designed for music.
When a user enters the name of an artist popular in the US (as well as some international artists) into the Google search box, they will see some information about that artist, including the name, a few albums, and a picture (when available), as well as a "more music results" link at the top of their search results.
When users click through to the "music results" page they will see user reviews, song titles, and links to a variety of online retailers, where they can purchase music. Additional information on the "music results" page includes links to news, photos, cover art, discussion forums and other websites relevant to the query.
Google maintains that though as of now they are only showing music links in limited cases to start with, they plan to expand the range of searches that trigger this feature over time.
Poster Comment:
I happened to walk past Google's offices in Irvine today. I said aloud to the person with me "Oh look, there's Google. Their search engine does some unwanted editing now, so I rarely use it anymore". A tech-manager type walked by me and thru the Google doors; he pretended not to hear me.
(Don't bother searching for those classic Hitler rally songs.)