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Posts with tag digital-music

MySpace and 3 major labels to launch MySpace Music

MySpace Music
MySpace, Warner Music Group, Sony BMG, and Universal Music have announced plans to launch an online music web site called MySpace Music (not to be confused with the existing web site called MySpace Music, rather the new site will be a spinoff of MySpace's existing service).

The music companies wil be making their complete content libraries available. Users will be able to stream ad-supported audio and video for free, or pay to download files includign songs and ringtones. MySpace Music will also sell concert tickets and artis merchandise.

EMI hasn't signed onto the project yet, but the New York Times reports that sources say the 4th major label will probably join up soon.

The music labels will own a minority stake in the business, which will compete with Apple's iTunes. Of course, the labels are making money through iTunes sales as well, but they've been complaining for a while that as the dominant online music retailer, Apple has too much control over the pricing and distribution of digital music.

Apple takes the #1 music retailer spot from Wal-Mart, or does it?

iTunes #1?
There's a rumor floating around this morning that Apple has surpassed Wal-Mart to become the top music retailer in the US. Ars Technica reports that Apple has sent a memo to employees showing the results of an NPD MusicWatch survey in January. There's just one problem. In February, Apple publicly stated that it was now the number two music seller in the US.

As Engadget points out, there may have been a spike in January because a whole bunch of people picked up new iPods and iPod gift cards for the holidays in Decemeber. Suffice it to say, if Apple was really the top music retailer in the country right now, they wouldn't be passing around an internal memo. They'd be sending out press releases with pictures of Steve Jobs stepping on a smiley face with blood poring out of its nose. Wait, smiley faces don't usually have noses, do they?

We're fairly certain that digital music will surpass physical media sales one day. That day just doesn't happen to be today.

Update: Nope, apparently that day is today. Apple has issued a press release stating that NPD's numbers show the company was the top music retailer in January and March.

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