On June 27, Google signed a multi-year licensing deal with Ontario’s LyricFind to display song lyrics in its search results. Google users will no longer have to click on an external link to see this information, as search results will immediately include full lyrics to a song.
LyricFind is a privately-held Toronto company. Its licensing deal with Google will enable lyrics from over 4,000 publishers to be ported through Google’s search results, as well as the Google Play Music app. This is an example of how music-related data can be incorporated into various online services that facilitate the discovery and sharing of published songs.
“We’re happy to expand the depth and quality of lyrics available on Google’s services,” says Darryl Ballantyne, LyricFind CEO. “We’re working together to make lyrics available to a larger audience in a faster and more efficient way.”
LyricFind has preexisting licensing arrangements with Universal Music Group, Sony Music, Warner, Kobalt and most other major international publishers. Its online music-searching service is based on maintaining a lyrics database, then tracking and distributing copyright royalties to music publishers in different countries on a song-by-song basis.
No date has been established for when LyricFind’s data will officially begin appearing in Canadian users’ search results. LyricFind was established in 2004 and has already signed similar licensing deals with online music distributors such as Deezer and Amazon.com.