China's Baidu Works With Labels on Music Downloads

From PC World: Top Chinese search engine Baidu is considering sharing ad revenue from its music search service with record labels, or remunerating the labels in some other way. Baidu's move toward authorized downloads comes after years of criticism of the search service for linking to downloads of pirated songs on other Web sites.

The move comes after rival Google expanded its own licensed music download search, offered only in China, earlier this year.

Baidu is cooperating with multiple labels to find a "mutually beneficial and sustainable" model for its music search, a company representative said Wednesday. Sharing ad revenue is just one model being considered, the person said, without giving details.

Baidu's music search has come under attack from Chinese and foreign music industry groups for copyright infringement, but it has also been a crucial draw for users.

The service accounts for 20 percent to 30 percent of searches on Baidu, according to consumer surveys by Shanghai-based China Market Research Group.

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