| MUMBAI:
Social networking site MySpace India will launch a new music service for its users
by November this year, enabling its members to listen to free streaming music
as well as purchase and download song downloads from the site. The
same service will be rolled out by the parent company in the US by September,
allowing users to purchase ringtones, T-shirts and concert tickets in addition
to song downloads and free streaming music. The announcement was made on 23 July
by MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech conference. "MySpace
is more about self expression and individuality. One of the reasons why we're
investing so heavily in music is that self-expression and music go together so
well," DeWolfe said at the conference. With
such a service all over the globe the social networking site will be directly
ompeting with Apple iTunes. MySpace - which was acquired by News Corp. (NWS) in
2005 - became a platform for bands to connect with their fans early on, and the
company says that 65 per cent of their members currently embed music on their
profile pages. MySpace
India, which launched in the country on 18 April this year with a slew of concerts
in Delhi, Chennai and Karachi, has been active in the music sphere, hoping to
get a foothold among the independent music scene in the subcontinent. The company
also promoted rock concerts titled the "Root Festival" in the North
East, and recently partnered with music label Saregama on an Underground initiative
wherein 30 unsigned bands from across the country were featured in three albums
- for Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi. MySpace
is now partnering major independent labels to promote upcoming artistes. With
a 360 degree campaign comprising concerts, ground events and promotion for the
artist, the site aims to give other music an equal platform.
"We
want to give equal importance to unknown and unsigned artistes through this service,"
says MySpace India director of marketing and content Tarun Tripathi. "This
is a global project which would allow all MySpace using artistes to monetize their
music."
With an estimated one and half million users by the end of
this year, the company plans to generate revenue of the promotional campaigns
through advertising and co-producers. Bollywood music is also expected to hit
the website soon as the officials are in talking terms with the labels.
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