On Thursday 3rd April 2008 Myspace announced its launching on MySpace Music, a joint venture with three of the four biggest music labels backing its new service.
Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group will together battle against iTunes for digital music distribution supremacy on the music portal. EMI is the lone holdout of the big four big music labels, so MySpace has to impress as the site will be up and running in the next three to four months.
MySpace Music will peddle free downloads, ringtones, concert tickets, t-shirts and other merchandise, as well as offer free streaming music from the full breadth of the labels' catalogues. The service also promises an ability to share customized playlists with others.
MySpace has an enormous online music community which until recently the music industry has fiercely combated. Before the deal could go through on the Wednesday, Universal Music had to agreed to settle a 2006 copyright infringement against MySpace. Financials were not disclosed, but its understood News Corp. shelled out a large sum of cash to make it go away.
The social site's music channel claims nearly 30 million unique monthly visitors and more than five million artists under its wing. With the combined libraries of Sony, Universal and Warner injected into the mix, MySpace Music now has both the audience and licensing muscle that could surpass the iTunes music store. Record labels have been increasingly feaful of Apple's influence on the business as iTunes inches closer to becoming the leader in global music sales.
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