If you often use Google to lookup artists then you’ve no doubt already seen the new Google Music Search that includes playable audio right in the search results. The streaming audio is served via iLike or Lala. Links to other streaming music sites are shown as well—namely Rhapsody, Pandora, Imeem, and Lala.

The first place I turn when looking up artists has been Google or YouTube. When I’m not clicking on the YouTube video links in Google, I’m clicking on the Wikipedia entries. Having streamable tracks in the search results gives us an even faster way to hear the music, and the video results still show in Google as well. I’m surprised that they didn’t include a YouTube link next to the Rhapsody, Pandora, Imeem, Lala links in the new music results. But maybe there is a legal issue there? Nah, couldn’t be.

I think that the benefits brought by Google Music Search are only beginning and many more features are on the horizon. What features do you think would be most useful and entertaining? What new data will be gathered by this and how could it be used for the greater good? Recent coverage on Mashable predicted that Google Music Search will decrease iTunes’ market share, help keep MySpace in the game, and make Google a source of music trend information. Google continues to grow as a major force on the web and its stock price has been rocking a strong upward trend through 2009. What implications does Google’s increasing dominance have for music in the years to come?

Ryan Van Etten