Google has teamed up with LyricFind to display song lyrics directly in its search results. The Toronto-based company signed a multi-year licensing deal with Google, allowing the search giant to offer song lyrics in the U.S. and international markets.
Speaking to Billboard, LyricFind CEO Darryl Ballantyne talked about how the deal would create an additional revenue model for musicians and songwriters:
It should be a significant revenue stream. We expect it to be millions of dollars generated for publishers and songwriters as a result of this. It’s all based on usage. Royalties are paid based on the number of times a lyric is viewed. The more it’s viewed, the more publishers get paid.
While there are several unlicensed sites, LyricFind’s business model involves tying up with publishers for rights to lyrics. Currently, it counts over 4,000 publishers, and licenses its services to Deezer and Amazon. Google, meanwhile, gets to serve up links to Play Music, where users can see the full lyrics and purchase the song, or listen to a radio station.
The lyric feature is now live to those in the U.S., and should be available in other regions shortly.
