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MySpace Music may be in a strong position to influence the development of online music, but analysts and industry pundits appear underwhelmed by what’s on offer.

We know that 12 per cent of European internet users visit artist pages on social networking sites and that they are also more likely than all other online music consumers to pay for digital downloads and listen to online radio.

However, independent artists are already angry with the new MySpace offering as the service has refused to reach an equable deal with them. And they see this a potential collusion among the major labels, each of whom actually own a stake in MySpace, a place for major label friends.We think this scathing criticism of the service from Bob Lefstz is well worth repeating:

“Content is not king, distribution is.  That’s what gave the major labels their power.  They could get the records in the store and get paid for them too!  But with anybody able to get their stuff on iTunes, the labels needed another monopoly.  Hence, MySpace Music.

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The world’s leading indie labels are furious with their perceived treatment at the hands of the formerly edgy start-up now News Corp. owned MySpace.

Indies are furious that MySpace’s new music service - a service in which major labels own a stake - won’t offer independents the same kind of level playing field. In essence, each time an independent label sells some music, the major labels each makes some money. That’s making the indies pretty mad.

MySpace Music launched without deals in place for the independent labels, though it does have some arrangement with leading music aggregator, The Orchard. Now the indies are speaking up - and, as reported on the BBC - are threatening to boycott MySpace. (Does this mean MySpace has become a place for major label bands? A&R departments may have to seek unsigned acts elsewhere….)
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MySpace will launch its long-expected MySpace Music service in the US - and has secured music from all the majors, including the last minute addition of EMI - but failed to agree terms with the indie labels.

The hybrid ads-funded streaming and paid-for download business lets users build as many playlists as they want, each containing up to 100 songs which can be streamed at no cost.

MySpace users in the US will encounter a new page in their profiles called “My Music” where they will be able to create playlists. My Music will contain a default initial playlist called “My Profile Song History” that contains all the songs subscribers have added to their profiles until now. The music search engine has been improved so that users can search not only by artist name but also by song and album titles.
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As expected, the battle of (digital media) in Britain is kicking off this Christmas - and with labels seeking to develop an (ahem) ‘more competitive landscape’ for such music sales, then the sequence of events could benefit music fans.

News now is that the Amazon Music Store will be launching in the UK by next month, offering a catalogue of DRM-free tracks in MP3 format, and (presumably) given a series of attractive price cuts on content in order that the labels can beat up on their one time friend, Apple and its iTunes Store.

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EMI is reportedly near to joining Universal, Warner Music and SonyBMG in making its repetoire available through the pending MySpace Music service.

A report claims the two companies are already in talks, with negotiatiors on both sides attempting to surmount a few final hurdles before agreeing the deal.

MySpace Music was originally anticipated to launch this week, but it looks like that moment may be delayed while the service secures EMI to be part of the launch.
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A short summary of some of the key news to emerge this weekend.

MySpace Music
All eyes are on this week’s launch of the music streaming and sales focused MySpace Music service, which is expected to see ads from McDonald’s, Toyota and State Farm Insurance. Amazon for infrastructure, weekend rumours claim former Facebook COO Owen Van Natta is the lead candidate to take on the CEO role.
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The Ben Folds Five will reform to perform the band’s first show in nearly a decade for the new MySpace show, ‘Front to Back’.

News that the band’s set to reform - even if it s only for one event - is likely to excite the band’s many fans, who must now look forward to September 18 for the gig to take place. And the exclusive nature of the performance is well-timed to be close to claims MySpace Music will launch three days earlier, on September 15.
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It’s a sign of the times, with content becoming the only driver for internet access (after all, if there was nothing there, who’d bother visiting), the relationships grow interesting, latest news is WiFi internet service, The Cloud, plans to offer free wireless access to MySpace users.

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Apple, Real Networks and Amazon are all competing to provide the infrastructure for the soon to launch MySpace Music store, a report claims.

Amazon at present appears ahead of the pack, according to reports. This is potentially because its back-end systems are more efficient than its competitors, according to separate industry talk. A final decision hasn’t yet been made.
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MySpace will launch the long-expected MySpace Music store in September, company CEO Chris DeWolfe confirmed at a Fortune-sponsored technology conference in the US.

The music service is a joint venture with all the major labels, bar EMI. It will be a combined music store and subscription service, offering unlimited streaming play of tracks for free (hello, Last.fm). Users will be able to create playlists, and add widget music players to their MySpace profiles. They will also be able to purchase song downloads,  ringtones, T-shirts and concert tickets. The venture will be backed by advertising.
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