By Jim Giles

Something exciting has just happened to online music, and it has nothing to do with Google’s new music service garnering all the headlines.

If you Google search for music related terms, like an artist’s name, some results now come with links to audio previews for relevant tracks. It is easy to use, but the service taps into just a few of the online music streaming sites. Lala and iLike are included but others with large libraries like Spotify and Last.fm are ignored. It also only works in the US. But more importantly, Google’s service only helps people find music, and what they really want is to listen to it.

If a friend tweets about a song, for example, I don’t want to have to search for it: I want a play button to appear in the tweet. I don’t care which server the song is stored on, I just want to click it and hear the music. The same goes for tracks mentioned in emails, blogs or anywhere online.

A new service called Playdar tries to do just that. Its creator is Richard Jones, a programmer who developed some of the technology behind Last.fm. Playdar’s stated goal is to do one thing: “Given the name of a track, find me a way to listen to it right now.”

Click here to read the full story at New Scientist.

It has watered down its original amendment to the Telecoms Package which stated that member states could not cut off net pirates without court authority. It follows pressure from countries keen to adopt tough anti-piracy laws.

The French government has just approved plans which could see pirates removed from the net for up to a year. The UK’s file-sharing policy is also likely to include a clause about disconnecting persistent offenders.

The new proposal reads: “Any such measures liable to restrict those fundamental rights or freedoms may only be taken in exceptional circumstances…and shall be subject to adequate procedural safeguards in conformity with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.. including effective judicial protection and due process.”

It stops short of demanding a court ruling on the matter. Members of the European Parliament have until the beginning of November to agree to the draft proposal.

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By Katie Allen

Google has launched a music search service for internet users in the United States that will provide information about artists and quick access to licensed music providers.

The new search feature on Google.com will allow people to find songs, even if they know only a few of the lyrics, by simply typing a line or two.

“People searching for an artist, song or album will get what they are looking for right at the top of their search results, with links to audio previews and the option to purchase music from Google’s music search partners MySpace and Lala,” Google said.

The internet company said the new feature was designed to help users find music and help artists, labels, songwriters and music publishers by driving traffic to licensed online music services. Google has not struck any revenue-sharing deals with labels as part of the new service. Instead it says the feature is merely a search function linking people up with existing legal music sites.

“Lots of people search for music through Google, so it made sense for us to find a way to get them to the content they’re looking for faster,” said Tom Stocky, Google’s director of product management.

“The best answer to a query is frequently not a web page but a map, a video, an image or some other kind of content. This launch makes search better by adding music to the list of things we can connect people to speedily, as well as providing a revenue source for artists, labels and others.”

With wideband, Comcast has introduced a new echelon of Internet speed tiers, which will redefine the customer experience online and create a platform for Internet innovation in the years ahead. Comcast now offers some of the fastest speeds available today in Central California, including the Extreme 50 tier with download speeds of up to 50 Mbps. Wideband also enables Comcast to double speeds for the majority of existing high-speed Internet customers.

“Wideband utilizes our existing fiber-optic network in neighborhoods across our footprint. With this next generation of service, our customers’ online experience is dramatically enhanced,” said Steve White, Senior Vice President of Comcast’s California Region. “And this is just the beginning. Wideband, combined with our fiber-optic network, gives us the capability of meeting the needs of our customers for many years to come by offering even faster speeds in the future.”

Beginning October 29th, Comcast’s new services will be available to residential homes, and beginning November 5th to all businesses, so its customers will soon be conducting business, surfing the web and playing online games even faster.

As part of the wideband deployment, Comcast is launching two new premium speed tiers to its residential and business class customers. Both new services are ideal for households or businesses simultaneously using several computers or Internet-connected devices. They also will appeal to those who simply want some of the fastest speeds available today:

New Residential Tiers
> Extreme 50, offering up to 50 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 10
Mbps of upstream speed at $99.95/month.*

> Ultra, offering up to 22 Mbps of downstream speed and up to 5 Mbps of
upstream speed at $62.95/month.*

With Extreme 50, Comcast customers will be able to download a high-definition movie (6 GB) in about 16 minutes, a standard-definition movie (2 GB) in about five minutes and a standard-definition TV show (300 MB) in a matter of seconds. Customers with Extreme 50 also will be able to download digital photos, songs and games faster than ever.

In addition to the new speed tiers, Comcast will also increase speeds for its existing Performance tier customers, who will now benefit from doubled downstream and upstream speeds – offering up to 12 Mbps and 2 Mbps, respectively. Plus, with PowerBoost® technology, customers are able to enjoy even faster speeds to download and upload files such as videos, games, music and photos.

Business customers will benefit from wideband with increased efficiency and productivity. Customers can sign up for the Deluxe 50 Mbps / 10 Mbps tier for $189.95/month, which includes a full suite of features and support. As part of their service, Comcast Business Class customers receive Microsoft Communication Services, providing corporate-class e-mail, calendaring and document sharing, as well as additional benefits such as firewall protection, static IP addresses, multiple e-mail addresses and business class 24/7 customer support.

Existing business class customers also will receive complimentary speed increases – speeds on the Starter tier will be doubled to up to 12 Mbps / 2 Mbps and a new Premium Tier also will be introduced, offering speeds up to 22 Mbps / 5 Mbps for $99.95/month.

Launching later this year, music fans will have the ability to view professionally-created content from Universal Music Group’s and Sony Music Entertainment’s broad array of chart-topping artists through VEVO, the innovative online premium music video hub being built for consumers, advertisers and content owners that will blend the very best in top-notch music content with YouTube’s leading edge video technology and user community. The content will be made available on YouTube, on VEVO.com, the service’s marquee destination site, and through a special VEVO branded embedded player. The service will also serve as a syndication platform for additional internet destination sites, expanding the reach of the VEVO brand across the worldwide web.

“When you can reach people while they’re pursuing one of their passions and help them learn, do or share something important to them, you can more strongly demonstrate how your brand is valuable and relevant to their lives,” said Schembri. “Music and entertainment are two of the broadest-reaching and influential ‘passion points’ for consumers, and aligning our brand with a new property like VEVO gives us a chance to reach them in fresh, meaningful ways.”

“The AT&T brand has come to symbolize innovation, convenience, flexibility and global inclusiveness to millions of consumers, and we are delighted that the company has joined us as one of our key launch participants,” stated Caraeff. “AT&T is also known for their innovative marketing and advertising programs, so their decision to join VEVO at such an early stage reflects not only their belief in our exceptionally compelling platform and content, but in our ability to deliver against AT&T’s unique brand vision.”

VEVO is the premium music video and entertainment service created by Universal Music Group (UMG) in partnership with Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and Abu Dhabi Media Company and is powered by YouTube. VEVO and VEVO.com are scheduled to launch in December 2009.

VEVO is the innovative online premium music video hub for consumers, advertisers and content owners that blends the very best in top-notch music content with YouTube’s leading edge video technology and user community. The content will be made available on YouTube, on VEVO.com, the service’s marquee destination site, and through a special VEVO branded embedded player. The service will also serve as a syndication platform for additional internet destination sites, expanding the reach of the VEVO brand across the worldwide web.