Searchme tries music streaming to attract users
Searchme, a visual search engine, on Monday launched a free music streaming service that allows visitors to search for their favorite songs and listen to an unlimited number of tracks. Each song on Searchme provides a link to buy it on Amazon.com, eBay, or iTunes and can be added to a "search stack" or playlist, which can be accessed at any time. The Searchme Music page also features cover art, which users can flip through to choose songs.
According to TechCrunch, Searchme's Music selection uses Imeem's catalog of licensed songs by employing its widget, which can be embedded anywhere on the Web. Searchme grabs an Imeem widget for each song in the search results page and displays them in a Cover Flow-like layout to help users pick songs.
Unlike some services, like Yahoo's music search, which will only allow users to play 25 streams each month, Searchme's music streaming is unlimited and generally provides a better design for music searching. But with a slew of competitors that offer streaming, like MySpace Music, Grooveshark, and Imeem itself, it won't be easy for the visual search engine to cement itself in the market, given its relatively small audience. But by offering free streaming, the company is doing all it can to capitalize on a growing trend in the marketplace, which could help it funnel more users into its Web search.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
