The details are vague, but Google could be on the verge of a significant breakthrough in offering free music over the Web in China, according to the WSJ. If its planned project works in China, it may work elsewhere too.
Google is close to launching joint venture with a Chinese online music company to provide free -- licensed -- music downloads in China, according to the report. This is significant, because from the beginning, Chinese search engine Baidu.com has beaten Google in China by offering users searches for free, unlicensed music downloads. While there are legal issues with doing this, Baidu has continued to thrive without punishment. Now Google is apparently about to hit back, and do it legally. Here's the plan, according to the WSJ:
[Google will offer] high-quality music files embedded with a digital "watermark" that lets record labels track how often their songs are downloaded. The idea: Better-quality files will draw users away from unlicensed downloads, and give labels and search companies valuable data needed to make money from advertising, say people familiar with the plans.