MySpace Music To Partner with Amazon
By Anna Johnson on August 1st, 2008Despite overtures by both Apple and Rhapsody, it appears MySpace will partner with Amazon to handle its MySpace Music transactions.
MySpace Music is expected to launch in September, offering music downloads from major music labels Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. Music download sales will likely be a substantial source of revenue for the service, which will also offer ring tones, concert tickets, merchandise and earn money from branded advertising campaigns.
The music delivered by MySpace Music will be “DRM-free”, meaning that it will be free of any “digital rights management” (DRM) technologies that restrict users’ ability to access, copy or convert the music to other formats. Good move, given the widespread aversion towards such technologies –
which arguably forced Yahoo to close its increasingly nonviable DRM business.
Sources: Michael Arrington, “Amazon To Power Upcoming MySpace Music Downloads”, Tech Crunch, July 25, 2008
