Metrolyrics adopts Gracenote authorized lyrics service

[News Poster]

Filed under: Fun, News, Search
MetroLyrics, one of the largest online sites to search for and find song lyrics, has just announced the addition of Gracenote's catalog of lyrics into its existing database.

In case you didn't know, Gracenote is currently the largest database of licensed (read: accurate) song lyrics out there, and has agreements with the big dogs: EMI, Universal/BMG, Sony/ATV, and Warner/Chappell. That last line included the most forward slashes we've ever used in a single sentence. Ever.

In its humble beginnings, MetroLyrics was mainly driven by community submission, meaning an individual would submit lyrics to a song that he or she liked, and then the community would rate the accuracy of those lyrics. Of course, because none of these submissions were authorized by the music companies, they were probably infringing on some sort of copyright. Worse still, their accuracy could never be completely assured.

After all, how could you know for sure that you downloaded the correct lyrics to "It's the end of the world as we know it" by REM? How would you know whether this line reproduced here:

Right you vitriolic, patriotic, slam, fight, bright light,
Feeling pretty psyched

Was correct or not?

Don't we already live in enough uncertainty?

The inclusion of the Gracenote catalog is a boon for MetroLyrics and its users. We're not sure at this point how MetroLyrics intends to monetize their site; including the Gracenote catalog seems to imply that the artists will get proper compensation for the use of their creative output, and it's not clear whether that compensation will come from online advertising or from the users themselves. Only time will tell.

(Thanks for the tip, Alan!)

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