Microsoft buys Seeqpod – Rumour

Microsoft is rumoured to have flown to the rescue of litigation-plagued music search site Seeqpod. Seeqpod CEO Kasian Franks recently revealed the site was in buyout talks with a major firm which would be able to negotiate with the music labels currently pursuing Seeqpod through the courts.

Now the Seeqpod site is apparently closed for refurbishment and a ?metamorphosis? link redirects users to Microsoft Search.

Though Microsoft was not among those named by Franks as one of Seeqpod’s potential new owners, the software giant would certainly be powerful enough to come to an arrangement with labels such as EMI and Warner that threaten the site’s existence.

Seeqpod trawls the internet for tracks, allowing users to create playlists and stream music directly from the web. The service has proved popular and a number of developers have used Seeqpod’s API to harness its search ability. However, though the site maintains it is merely finding the content rather than hosting it, both EMI and Warner Music have taken aggressive legal action against Seeqpod, even going so far as to name individual staff in their lawsuits.