This weirded me out, really. I guess it has just never occurred to me that a big company such as Google would actually offer this much. And in China?
Then again, it all made sense after I read the whole news piece. So this is what’s going on. We know that China is perhaps the leading country when it comes to piracy. And I am not talking about music and movies only. Fake bags, clothes, and everything else are made in China!
Anyway, I digressed, but China is known for being the pirate’s haven. You can find practically any movie or music album in this country. And we know that various sectors from around the world have been trying to kill this lucrative business. Apparently, their efforts have not been that effective as the piracy business in China is still thriving.
Enter Google. They have started a new service, a free MP3 download service all throughout China. The aim is, obviously, to divert those who download illegally into downloading legally. Naturally, the only way to do this is to make available media for free.
And how exactly is Google going to be able to keep the service running if they do not charge the users? The answer is simple: through ads. The service is actually being backed up by 14 independent labels, who want to make a change and yet continue earning money.
Google has been testing this service since August of last year and it looks like it could fly. However, for those of us outside China, we will not be getting even a taste of the service. And why not, I ask?