Yahoo! Joins Suddenly Crowded Online Music Field

The race to develop a commercially successful online music service has begun. But the finish line? It's nowhere in sight.

Thursday's announcement of an alliance between Yahoo! (YHOO Quote) and two of the world's largest record companies marks the third Internet music venture this week from deep-pocketed, established media and technology firms.

Details are sketchy on the service being offered by Yahoo! and the record companies, as they were with other entrants, and none has the complete music catalog that handicappers say is necessary for victory. But, according to one analyst, this week's announcements at least clarify which companies are in the running.

In addition, the deal illustrates Yahoo!'s continuing efforts to diversify its revenue stream beyond the advertising dollars on which it has relied for a large majority of sales. ...