Google’s new lyrics search makes homemade karaoke that bit easier

Vaughn Highfield June 28, 2016

Even though some of us hate to admit it, we all love a good singalong now and again to our favourite songs. Trouble is, unless you know the lyrics, you usually end up singing only a section of the song – mumbling along to the rest as you try to keep up with what the hell Rihanna is saying.

Google’s new lyrics search makes homemade karaoke that bit easier

Thankfully, Google is always there to help, and now it’s making lyric searches even easier than before. No more clicking through to ad-riddled websites where you’re told you need to download a new version of Flash – it’s never actually Flash – to read some lyrics. Google now provides lyrics directly within Google search results, in a similar way to how it shows dictionary definitions when you search a word, or a quick Wikipedia summary or IMDb listing around an actor or film.

This new lyric search also helps benefit the artists you love, giving them royalties every time you view their lyrics. It can do this because the new service is powered by LyricFind, a licenced lyrics listing company. This means no dodgy ads or user-generated-and-slightly-off lyrics.

Interestingly, while this feature is currently only available in the US at the moment – and seemingly only works with Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” – Billboard reports that the deal with LyricFind includes international licensing, too, so we’ll hopefully see the feature come to UK shores soon.

If you’re wondering what Google has to gain from this deal, every time you click onto the lyrics it provides, it takes you to Google Play Music, allowing you to see the lyrics, start a free radio station or purchase the single directly. Not a bad way to ensure people start using its own music ecosystem over another…