MySpace Launches New Music Site

MySpace, owned by News Corp.(NWS Quote - Cramer on NWS - Stock Picks), Thursday introduced a new new suite of products that allows users to buy song downloads, listen to free streaming audio, and to make playlists, in a joint venture with major record labels.

MySpace said the new products mark 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, digital e-commerce opportunities for artists, and ultimately sales of merchandise and concert tickets."

BusinessWeek reports the MySpace Music site is the music industry's largest attempt to date to generate advertising revenue in exchange for free online music.

Music companies EMI Group, Warner Music Group(WMG Quote - Cramer on WMG - Stock Picks), Universal Music Group and Sony BMG Music Entertainment, a joint venture of Sony(SNE Quote - Cramer on SNE - Stock Picks) and Bertelsmann AG, have licensed their catalogs to MySpace and are equity partners in the venture.

MySpace Music also incorporates the music catalog from Orchard(ORCD Quote - Cramer on ORCD - Stock Picks), a provider of independent digital music.

The labels get a cut of revenue from ads that sit on the page or player, BusinessWeek reports.

MySpace is still looking for a chief executive to run the music venture. The company also has been recently looking to raise about $100 million to $200 million in equity financing for the music operation, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

The first four integrated sponsors to advertise on MySpace Music are McDonald's(MCD Quote - Cramer on MCD - Stock Picks), Sony Pictures, State Farm, and Toyota(TM Quote - Cramer on TM - Stock Picks), MySpace said.