Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

MySpace Makes Music Overtures

Social networking site turns to recording labels in effort to broaden appeal

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 20, 2008 2:54 PM CST

(Newser) – MySpace has spent the past few weeks approaching major record labels, trying to hammer out a deal for a new online music service, the Wall Street Journal reports. The deal—tentatively MySpace Music—would likely let users stream unlimited music for free, and buy downloads that could be played on mp3 players, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The proposal is part of MySpace’s efforts to broaden its media offerings to fend off the likes of fast-gaining Facebook. It also gets MySpace's foot in the door of online music’s trends toward free streaming and copyright-free music. But sealing a deal won’t necessarily be easy. One label, Universal Music, has a lawsuit pending against MySpace for, ironically, streaming music.

News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, right, and MySpace CEO and Co-founder Chris DeWolfe listen to questions during a talk at Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco in this Oct. 17, 2007 file photo.... (Associated Press)

Kate Voegele practices inside her dorm room at Miami (Ohio) University Tuesday, April 3, 2007, in Oxford, Ohio. Her roommate Sarah Peck works on her laptop at right. Voegele has her first CD with MySpace... (Associated Press)

An image advertising MySpace.com is seen projected on a screen during NewsCorp's Global Energy Initiative in New York in this May 9, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file) (Associated Press)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

MySpace Music Takes On iTunes

Joint venture with record companies aims to create competition

(NEWSER) - The world of online music buying looks set for a shakeup with the launch of MySpace Music, announced today. The joint venture between MySpace and three of the big four record labels aims to compete head-to-head with iTunes, CNET News reports. Music industry bigwigs are said to have long felt that iTunes was getting too powerful. More»

Pepsi, Amazon Could Spark Digital Music Revolution

Promotion deal pushing music companies to switch to DRM-free MP3 format

(NEWSER) - Pepsi and Amazon aren’t music producers, but they may inspire large-scale changes in the industry, Reuters says. The two companies will launch a music download promotion of MP3 songs during the Super Bowl next year, a deal pushing music titans like Warner Music and Sony BMG to consider distributing songs in the same format, which bypasses digital rights management technology. More»

Justin Timberlake, Ad Group Buy MySpace for $35M

News Corp takes massive loss on social networking also-ran

(NEWSER) - The hottest website of 2006 now belongs in part to one of that year's hottest stars. Justin Timberlake has teamed up with digital advertising agency Specific Media to take MySpace off the hands of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, reports the Telegraph . Insiders say the fallen giant of social networks, which News Corp purchased for $580 million in 2005, was sold for just $35 million, most of that in Specific Media stock. More»

MySpace Likely to Be Sold This Week

It could go for a relative pittance, thanks to Facebook

(AP) - News Corp. is hoping to part with struggling social network site MySpace this week, and will likely lay off more than half of the remaining staff of 500, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company is looking to cut a deal tomorrow or Thursday in order to have it completed this fiscal year, which ends Thursday. The All Things D site reported that MySpace was on the verge of being sold for $20 million to $30 million, but the AP source thinks the deal will be much higher and involve cash and stock. More»

Even MySpace Founders No Longer Using Site

Site's decline blamed in part on Rupert Murdoch's loss of interest

(NEWSER) - MySpace has fallen so far that its own founders no longer bother updating their profiles, BusinessWeek finds in a detailed look at the rapid decline of the former juggernaut of social networking. Former CEO Chris DeWolfe, who founded the company with Tom Anderson in 2003, says he cringes on the rare occasions he visits his page, while Anderson's last update was in March of 2010. The site, bought by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp in 2005, has shed an average of a million users a month since its December 2008 peak. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

MySpace Makes Music Overtures

Social networking site turns to recording labels in effort to broaden appeal

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Bloggers' takes

Rupert Murdoch • MySpace • music industry • NBC Universal • Universal Music Group • Warner Music • online music • Hulu • Sony BMG Music Entertainment • News Corp • EMI Group

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

MySpace Music Takes On iTunes

Joint venture with record companies aims to create competition

Pepsi, Amazon Could Spark Digital Music Revolution

Promotion deal pushing music companies to switch to DRM-free MP3 format

Justin Timberlake, Ad Group Buy MySpace for $35M

News Corp takes massive loss on social networking also-ran

MySpace Likely to Be Sold This Week

It could go for a relative pittance, thanks to Facebook

Even MySpace Founders No Longer Using Site

Site's decline blamed in part on Rupert Murdoch's loss of interest

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

MySpace Makes Music Overtures

Social networking site turns to recording labels in effort to broaden appeal

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Bloggers' takes

Rupert Murdoch • MySpace • music industry • NBC Universal • Universal Music Group • Warner Music • online music • Hulu • Sony BMG Music Entertainment • News Corp • EMI Group

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

MySpace Music Takes On iTunes

Joint venture with record companies aims to create competition

Pepsi, Amazon Could Spark Digital Music Revolution

Promotion deal pushing music companies to switch to DRM-free MP3 format

Justin Timberlake, Ad Group Buy MySpace for $35M

News Corp takes massive loss on social networking also-ran

MySpace Likely to Be Sold This Week

It could go for a relative pittance, thanks to Facebook

Even MySpace Founders No Longer Using Site

Site's decline blamed in part on Rupert Murdoch's loss of interest

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?