Yahoo to Tests out New Search-Engine Features
Yahoo is testing a new search-engine feature that will pore through millions of songs offered by popular internet music services like iTunes, Rhapsody and Napster. Yahoo audio beta search is being tested at audio.search.yahoo.com.
This free service has an index of over 50 million audio files. It comprises interviews, speeches and newscasts posted online, as well as a large number of net podcasts, can be accessed at audio.search.yahoo.com. The index content is identified through metadata embedded in the files.
The Yahoo Service should lure more Internet searchers and customers to its subscription music download service. Google Inc. and Yahoo Services both added video search in the past year. Yahoo is known to be the most comprehensive, largely as it received permission to index downloadable songs offered by virtually all of the internet’s top music services.
The service is offering samples of certain songs and links to music download sites from companies including Napster Inc. and RealNetworks Inc., as well as Yahoo’s service. Yahoo has provided a list of links to the online music services that offer files for download.
Common belief is that Yahoo’s foray into audio search is due to the increasing emphasis of company on indexing online video. It also feels a need to attract and retain users in the face of stiff competition so that more money can be made out of selling ads.