MySpace Music Finally Launches Free Streaming Service

Sam Gustin writes: MySpace Music, the joint venture between News Corp.'s giant social network and the major record labels, has officially launched.

As expected, the fourth and final major record label, EMI, has come on board after negotiations that delayed the initial launch, which was originally set for last week.

Independent music distributor The Orchard has also signed on to the project.

The record labels have a lot riding on the venture, which is aimed at weakening the grip of Apple's iTunes on the legal online music market.

As previously reported, MySpace Music has lined up four major advertising partnerships with McDonald's, Sony Pictures, State Farm, and Toyota.

The service will offer free, ad-supported, streaming music from the labels' catalogs, as well as downloads, concert tickets, and other merchandise for purchase. Full release below:

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EMI MUSIC AND SONY ATV SIGN ON TO GROUNDBREAKING 'MYSPACE MUSIC' JOINT VENTURE ALONGSIDE SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP, AND WARNER MUSIC GROUP

THE ORCHARD JOINS MYSPACE MUSIC'S LINE-UP OF INDEPENDENT MUSIC DISTRIBUTORS INCLUDING ADA, RED, FONTANA AND CAROLINE

MYSPACE MUSIC LAUNCHES FIRST WAVE OF NEW PRODUCT OFFERINGS WITH ALL 4 MAJOR RECORD COMPANIES, 4 MAJOR PUBLISHING COMPANIES, AND LEADING INDEPENDENT MUSIC DISTRIBUTOR

Amazon MP3 to Power Integrated E-Commerce Solution Enabling Purchases of MP3 Downloads

McDonald's, Sony Pictures, State Farm, and Toyota Are Inaugural Brand Advertisers

LOS ANGELES--September 25, 2008--MySpace, the world's premier social network, alongside its landmark joint venture partners which include EMI Music, SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG), Sony ATV/ Music Publishing and The Orchard today unveiled the new 'MySpace Music' product (http://www.myspace.com/music) injecting the world's richest online music community with a host of new features for both users and artists. The new suite of products, which includes an ever-growing catalog of premium audio and video content, e-commerce offerings, and user and artist playlists, aims to further enhance the MySpace Music experience as well as provide monetization opportunities for its active music community.

Today's announcement marks the first phase in an iterative global product rollout which will ultimately include a vast catalogue of premium and promotional content, a wide selection of new user-to-user sharing tools, and additional e-commerce opportunities for artists including merchandise and ticketing. Starting today, the new MySpace Music functionality currently available for U.S. MySpace users will also be available in Spanish and fully localized for the MySpace en Español community. Select products including the newly designed music player will be available globally to MySpace's more than 120 million global users (comScore July 2008).

The first phase of the new MySpace Music unveils:

    * The new, 'MyMusic,' personal music management toolset

    * Free and unlimited ad-supported, full-length audio streaming

    * Free and unlimited playlist functionality

    * Free discography and content catalogues for SONY BMG, UMG and WMG artists

    * DRM-free MP3 music e-commerce downloads powered by Amazon MP3

    * Ringtone e-commerce powered by Jamster

The 'MyMusic' toolset empowers the MySpace Music community in the U.S. to download, stream, and personalize their music content.  The new product allows MySpace users to create playlists for both personal and public consumption and profile display, allowing profile visitors to stream all playlisted content on-demand and purchase MP3s of their favorite songs. Users can virally add a friend's playlist to their own profile or take songs from a friend's profile to their own.

In addition to managing and discovering new music, users will now be able to utilize MySpace Music's enhanced search capability to browse and search for music by artist, song title, or album title. Users can freely stream their preferred content through a personal music player for a seamless listening experience while browsing MySpace or the other websites.

Beginning today, U.S. users can purchase DRM-free MP3 music downloads through MySpace Music's new e-commerce solution powered by Amazon MP3. Now, adjacent to licensed songs within artist profile media players, user-created playlists, and certain music editorial pages, MySpace Music will feature buy buttons that will allow users to download and purchase MP3s playable on all digital music devices, including the iPod.  Similarly, users can click on a "Find Ringtones" button--powered by Jamster--within music players to purchase ringtones of their favorite artists.

The first four integrated sponsors to advertise on MySpace Music are McDonald's, Sony Pictures, State Farm, and Toyota.  These brands will be powering customers' access to a host of new music services.  McDonald's will have presence on MySpace Music's personal music player giving away a variety of free music downloads.  To promote the opening of Sony Pictures' comedy "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist," the movie studio will be skinning all MySpace Music users' profile playlists for an entire week with branding from the film.  State Farm will have rotating ads among all pages including the Featured Playlist, the Personal Music Player, and MyMusic where members go to create and edit playlists. With "Toyota Tuesdays," the auto company will offer free music downloads and have a strong presence on MySpace Music's Personal Music Player every Tuesday for a year.

MySpace Music hosts more than 5 million major, indie, and unsigned artists within the site's music profiles section, which provides for a vast artist-powered collection of songs, music videos, tour dates, blogs, and photos.  MySpace's deep, long-standing ties to the music community have allowed for numerous exclusive features from the most groundbreaking musicians in the world and the its new marketing initiatives will greatly enhance the existing MySpace Music offline concert franchises including Secret Shows, MySpaceLIVE!, Transmissions, Front to Back and The List.

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Laura Rich is a co-founder of Recessionwire, which provides news, advice, perspective and humor about the recession and the recovery.