MySpace aims to rock online music

MySpace, the popular social-networking site, plans to turn up the volume in the online music market when its joint venture with the biggest music industry players finally delivers its much-awaited service.

MySpace Music, slated to go live on Thursday, will offer members of the social-networking site the ability to stream for free music from the four major record companies, as well as buy songs for download without any digital locks from a store powered by Amazon MP3.

In addition to EMI Music, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, other major players on board are publisher Sony ATV / Music Publishing and independent music distributors The Orchard and Alternative Distribution Alliance.

MySpace Music, announced in April, builds on the social-networking site's existing and significant music component, which includes profiles for more than 5 million artists along with songs, videos, photos and other content.

The new service will allow MySpace members to share music, purchase merchandise and event tickets, stream and buy songs, manage their digital music collections and compile playlists.

"Music has been a big part of MySpace since the beginning, and especially in the early days it was the heart and soul of what we were about. Since then, we've spent a lot of time trying to figure out what else can be done in music and where can we go from here," said Steve Pearman, senior vice president of product strategy for MySpace.

While the market has been dominated by Apple's iTunes music store and iPod players, MySpace believes its new service will take online music to another level by giving people more flexibility and freedom to share with friends and load songs onto different devices.

"We believe you can move the music monetization model away from a system based on scarcity and barriers and build as strong, if not a stronger business, by setting the content free," Pearman said.

That approach is consistent with the principles that govern the MySpace user experience, like social discoveries and sharing and consuming content, he said.

At the same time, MySpace Music seeks to simplify the pairing of brand marketers with artists for advertising purposes, while giving music labels and artists viable, alternative revenue streams, he said.

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