Here comes another iTunes killer- "MySpace Music"

MySpace, the most popular social networking site on Thursday unveiled a music service, MySpace Music, a bid to challenge Apple’s dominant position in the music industry. The Web’s largest social network said that MySpace site users will now be able to listen to music online for free and buy songs for download.

MySpace, the popular social network which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., said that it has entered into deals with three of the biggest recording companies, Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group Corp. to launch MySpace Music, the music service that will help them sell and stream ad-supported music.

“With these three leading companies, we are going to take what has been a rich and vibrant community on MySpace Music to the next level," said Amit Kapur, MySpace's chief operating officer. "We want our music platform to be frictionless -- discovery, consumption and sharing of music will exist in one environment."

MySpace draws nearly 110 million members worldwide, 30 million of whom already visit its music platform. In addition, nearly 5 million artists already use company’s existing music platform to promote themselves.

"We believe that the Web is becoming increasingly more social," MySpace co-founder and chief executive DeWolfe said during a conference call. "MySpace Music is a new way of experiencing music online that everyone can participate in."

With the launch of its own music service, Los Angeles-based MySpace apparently is turning the online user profile pages into portals for selling music, merchandise and more. And, the three major record labels that signed up for the deal likely are trying something new for making money online, as music industry statistics show that CD sales are plummeting steadily.

MySpace’s music platform will now provide users with DRM-free digital music downloads, ad-supported audio and video streaming, a mobile phone storefront and a concert ticket sales office, the company said.

MySpace Music, which offers much of what iTunes does, will roll out gradually in coming months. The service will enable artists to sell music downloads, concert tickets and merchandise such as T-shirts through their profile pages and to offer ring tones through a unit of News Corp.

"Our goal is to empower the artists ... to further diversify their models through MySpace music," DeWolfe said.

MySpace has not yet disclosed how much the company will charge for music or how it will share revenue.