Andrea Chalupa writes: Looks like cat's out of that bag as to why EMI was holding out from joining other major labels in turning over music catalogues to MySpace Music, which streamed its billionth song within a week of its launch last month.

Though EMI ultimately signed on, it turns out the U.K.-based music company was planning to launch its own music distribution site, EMI.com, the Financial Times reports.

The site, which execs are promising will merely be a "laboratory" or "digital sandbox" of music, will sell downloads--pitting it at least in some respects in competition with MySpace Music, and appears to be yet another attempt by labels to recapture online revenue lost to iTunes and others.

Spearheading the site are EMI owner Guy Hands and Google vet Douglas Merrill. But are they really expecting music fans to look to the labels of their favorite artists to buy their music, instead of the one-stop-shops of Rhapsody, iTunes, and now MySpace Music?

Downplaying any competitive aspect, EMI says that its new site, which launches this fall, will be more about the promotion of their artists, and fans online won't even know they stumbled onto the label's site--that's how inconspicuous of a marketplace it will be.




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