A new iTunes Rival: MySpace to allow users to sell music downloads

[mandy]

MySpace.com plans to let its 77 million users sell music downloads, another move by corporate parent News Corp. to make the social networking site as profitable as it is popular.

Shawn Fanning, whose Napster software upended the music industry in 1999, will provide technology that enables musicians on MySpace to sell songs directly to fans — and even for fans to sell to one another.

When the tentatively dubbed MyStore launches this year, bands will be able to price and sell songs in the MP3 format, which works on Apple Computer Inc.'s popular iPod players as well as rival devices powered by Microsoft Corp. software.

Although the service is aimed at independent acts, MySpace is in talks with all four major music labels to possibly offer the works of big-name artists. As with many new forms of online distribution, the big labels are waiting to see how well the technology works before striking deals...

full article: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-my...s-business

Before the end of 2006, De Wolfe said MySpace will offer independent bands that have not signed with a record label a chance to sell their music on the site. MySpace says it has nearly 3 million bands showcasing their music.

Songs can be sold on the bands' MySpace pages and on fan pages, in non-copyright-protected MP3 digital file format, which works on most digital players including Apple's market-dominating iPod.

The bands will decide how much to charge per song after including MySpace's distribution fee, said Rusty Rueff, the chief executive of Snocap, which will manage the e-commerce service. Snocap provides digital licensing and copyright management services and was started by Napster founder Shawn Fanning.

full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...01546.html

[maryrussel]

Thanks for the info Mandy.

[Anita]

Have you ever seen the bands/music signed up on MySpace?  Definitely geared to the younger crowd. 

and even for fans to sell to one another.  That should be interesting...

[mandy]

A deal announced Tuesday between social networking Goliath MySpace and digital content manager Snocap will have a marginal impact on Internet music sales, according to some observers of the market...

Despite the size of the captured audience for the new services, which are slated to be rolled out by the end of the year, it's unlikely they'll pose a threat to the market leader, contended David Card, a senior analyst with JupiterResearch.

"It's not going to have the slightest impact on iTunes and the iPod," he told TechNewsWorld.

The artists targeted by MySpace -- those signed by independent labels or unsigned by any label -- represent 20 to 30 percent of total record sales, noted Card...

full article: http://ecommercetimes.com/story/kNPfXFPj...Move.xhtml