MySpace Music officially announced

Social networking giant MySpace officially confirmed its much-rumored MySpace Music retail effort, teaming with Universal Music, Sony BMG and Warner Music Group to offer consumers free, ad-subsidized streaming content as well as premium downloads a la Apple's iTunes. The New York Times reports all three major label partners will own minority stakes in MySpace Music, and will offer up their complete content catalogs--holdout EMI is widely expected to join the venture in the near future. In addition to full-length, DRM-free tracks, MySpace Music will also offer ringtones, concert tickets, t-shirts and related merch--MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe said a subscription-based unlimited access model is also under serious consideration. Pricing details were not disclosed. "This is really a mega-music experience that is transformative in a lot of ways," DeWolfe added. "It's the first service that offers a full catalog of music to be streamed for free, with full community features, to be shared with all of your friends."

For more on MySpace Music:
- read this New York Times article

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