MySpace Music, the social networking site's new JV with the record industry, will launch next Thursday, Sept. 18, a source tells SAI's Peter Kafka. That's a slight delay from the site's previous launch target -- Sept. 15 -- but no big deal.
Meanwhile, Fortune's Devin Leonard covers the JV in a lengthy profile posted to the magazine's Web site today. Highlights:
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- Amazon (AMZN), not Apple's (AAPL) iTunes or another vendor, will officially handle music downloads.
- Labels "want a penny each time someone listens to a song," which means MySpace will need to charge $10 for every 1,000 ad impressions to break even. Or will it? PaidContent's Rafat Ali spoke to a source that says a "penny per song is not an accurate number, but the numbers are more based on revenue share, ad sales, and branded environments." Media buyers say MySpace is currently averaging $3 per 1,000 impressions.
- Toyota, McDonald's, and State Farm are sponsoring the launch.
See Also:
Chernin: MySpace Ad Sales 'Above Where We Expected It To Be'
MySpace Music Launching, Still No CEO
MySpace Music Grunts: Please Don't Hire A CEO!