Music Ally

All eyes are on this week’’s launch of MySpace Music. It’s expected that we’ll hear today that McDonald’’s, Toyota and State Farm Insurance have agreed to advertise on the service, which will offer streaming access to deep catalogue from Universal, Sony BMG, Warner Music, and a few independents. With Amazon providing the back-end, the service will also sell unprotected MP3 downloads, ringtones, and (more…)

Yahoo has revealed plans to open up its Yahoo Music site to feature content from outside stores, including iTunes and Amazon. “We are going to completely open up Yahoo Music in the next few weeks,” says Yahoo’s Scott Moore. It’s not a huge surprise, given Yahoo has (more…)

Nashville-based blues artist Von Johin has signed a record deal with Reality Entertainment. Not particularly interesting in itself, but the way he was discovered is. See, Johin made his name playing virtual gigs in his own venue in Second Life, where he was spotted by Reality Entertainment’s scouts. The company says he’ll (more…)

Outspoken eMusic CEO David Pakman is sharpening his claws for rival Amazon’s MP3 Store again, telling Silicon Valley Insider that he estimates it only has 4-5% of the US digital music market, compared to eMusic’s 10-15% (this is based on number of tracks downloaded, not revenue). (more…)

Amazon is finalising the plans for a global rollout of its MP3 store, with reports claiming that it’ll be launched in the UK by October, before transferring to other European countries. Like the US version, it’ll offer DRM-free MP3 tracks, and will seek to take on iTunes through pricing and exclusive content. (more…)