Yahoo launches new Audio Search engine

Yahoo! today introduced Yahoo! Audio Search beta, the most open and comprehensive index of audio files on the Web. Yahoo! Search is the first major search engine to deliver an audio search product that provides users access to over 50 million audio files from major music services and independent publishers. Yahoo! Audio Search provides access to a variety of audio files including podcasts, music downloads, albums and spoken word such as newscasts, speeches, and interviews, as well as other audio related information including music videos, album reviews, artist images and artists websites.

The Yahoo! Audio Search index includes content from the Web and Yahoo!'s Network properties such as Yahoo! Music as well as partnerships with mainstream and independent providers such as eMusic, GarageBand.com, Napster and RealNetworks(R)' Rhapsody(R). Yahoo! Audio Search is also integrated with Yahoo! Video Search, Yahoo! Image Search, and Yahoo! News Search to provide users with access to other audio related content. In addition, Yahoo! Audio Search enables independent publishers to submit content to the index through Media Really Simple Syndication (Media RSS), providing users open access to original and timely audio content.

Yahoo! Audio Search's integration with My Web 2.0, http://myweb2.search.yahoo.com, Yahoo!'s new social search engine, enables users to save audio searches, creating a personal, searchable Web of favorite audio Web pages. Moreover, My Web 2.0 users can share their musical tastes with their communities by creating RSS feeds of their saved Web pages.

"Yahoo! Audio Search complements music services such as Yahoo! Music Unlimited and other third party services by providing consumers access to an extensive array of other audio related content such as podcasts, spoken word and artist websites," said John Thrall, head of multi-media search engineering, Yahoo! Search. "With Yahoo! Audio Search, users have a starting point for finding all audio related content available on the Web making it easy for users to find, use, share and expand their knowledge of audio-related content."

Additionally, Yahoo! Audio Search users that already subscribe to an online music service will benefit from the Preferred Audio Service, a feature which identifies a users' service and finds audio files from their favorite provider allowing a one-click connection to the applicable service. Preferred Audio Service also expands the catalogue of available audio files by offering alternate sources for files the users' preferred service may not include.

"By offering a single search path across multiple content sources, Yahoo! has made it easier for consumers to find podcasts, music, or other audio files in one place," said Su Li Walker, Analyst, Yankee Group. "By further enhancing the search experience with personalization tools, Yahoo! is delivering an innovative model for consumers to use the web to find and listen to audio files of their choice."

Partial list of service partners for audio content, including downloadable music are:
Artistdirect, Audiolunchbox, Buymusic.com , DMusic , Epitonic , eMusic , GarageBand.com , mp34u.com , Musicmatch , Napster , nugs.net , PassAlong.com , RealNetworks' Rhapsody , SoundClick and Yahoo! Music Unlimited.

Yahoo! Audio Search partners providing reviews, videos and other relevant music information include:
Allmusic.com, Billboard.com , CMT , Dusted , Ice Magazine , Jazz Times , MTV: Music Television , RollingStone.com , VH1 , Vibe and Spin

Yahoo's Audio Search can be found here.