Download Squad

Companies like SeeqPod and Skreemr have made a business model out of letting you search for a song or musician by name and then streaming the MP3s found on the web. The sites don't actually host any of the music - just the tools to locate and play it. But they do rely on the fact that millions of people have already illegally uploaded copyrighted songs to the internet. Now Yahoo! has entered the game with a 100% legal system.

Here's how it works. You go to Yahoo.com and enter the name of a band, musician, or song. If it's among the 10,000 or so songs supported by Yahoo! at the moment, you'll get a box at the top of your search results with some artist information and a few play links. Hit play and a Flash-based player will pop up and start playing the song by streaming music from Real Networks' Rhapsody music service.

There is a catch. You can only listen to 25 songs a month before the Rhapsody player stops working. You'll need to sign up for a paid account if you want to keep going. In other words, if you're looking to create a free streaming audio playlist, you're still better off using SeeqPod or Skreemr. But if you're already a Rhapsody subscriber or if you're willing to pay for a legal service, Yahoo! is offering an alternative. And more importantly, if you're not looking to create a playlist, but just want to figure out the name of that tune you heard on the radio, Yahoo! now has the tools to help.