By Yuki Noguchi

Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, December 16, 2005; Page D05

Ever try to recall lost lyrics by humming the tune to a friend? Now there are more technical -- and potentially more accurate -- ways to get the job done.

Google Inc. said yesterday that it is tailoring its search engine to address those ``what`s that song?`` moments so that a Google search for an artist will pull up song titles, album art, links to lyrics and reviews, and advertisements for places where the music can be purchased.

Google Inc. is responding to greater demand for music information online. (By Kimberly White -- Bloomberg News)

``One of the things Google wasn`t good at that consumers wanted was music,`` said Marissa Mayer, the company`s vice president for search products and user experience. And because a huge number of users` searches fall into the music category, Google decided to alter its engine to serve up results, she said.

Currently, the search results come up when a user types in an artist`s name, but over time, the product will develop so it ties in more with other Google tools, such as its video library or Internet phone service, Mayer said. A search for the Beatles, for example, brings up one of the group`s album covers, other albums, and links to more search results and the Beatles` official Web page.

``It makes a tremendous amount of sense; this is an extension of [Google`s] search capabilities`` and will be a natural place for consumers to look when they`re trying to think of songs or shop for music, said Mike McGuire, research director for Gartner Inc. ``It gets people to move from CDs to online.``

In addition to music, Google has created a catalogue of maps, books, videos, images and blogs. The company said it will not directly profit from the new service but will post advertisements along with search results. Google will start with artists popular in the United States and expand its library over time.

Google`s focus on the music comes at a time when more companies are selling, producing and distributing music online.

Earlier this week, Microsoft Corp. and MTV Networks Co. announced their plans for a partnership called Urge to sell music online starting next year. The service will use the Windows Media audio format and will make 2 million tracks available at its launch.

Google rival Yahoo Inc. launched its Yahoo Music service earlier this year and tied it with its blogs and other communication tools. Also this year, America Online Inc. started making a big push into offering music and music videos with its sponsorship of the Live 8 concert series. It also is planning to open its own music studio in New York City and is expanding one in Los Angeles next year.

With the proliferation of online music content, more companies are coming up with ways to enhance their search capabilities. Apple Computer Inc.`s iTunes, for example, allows its users to search its database by artist or title or within genres of music. It also pulls up collections of similar genres and other albums by the same artist.

Other online libraries such as Rhapsody and Napster also offer searches of their databases. And services like 411-Song have made a business of selling song identification by holding a cell phone up to a speaker playing a tune.

Google`s tool is more thorough because it searches across the Web instead of a company-specific database, McGuire said. Other niche search engines that perform similar functions, such as Gofish.com, are not well known and could be hurt by the bigger Google brand, he said.