MySpace Offers Free Music Downloads — with Ads

Users of the popular social-networking site MySpace can now listen to and download music from several music companies, including Sony, EMI and Warner.

Starting Thursday, users will have free access to hundreds of thousands of songs from hundreds of record labels — but there’s a catch. MySpace’s 120 million users who want to use the free service need to deal with the advertising that comes with it, and they will only be able to access the service using a PC.

Users in the U.S. can also purchase the digital rights management-free MP3 music downloads using MySpace’s e-commerce feature. Users can download and buy MP3s on all digital music devices, including Apple’s iPod.

Chris DeWolfe, chief executive at MySpace, said the deal is the beginning of a new chapter in modern music. “Millions of die-hard music fans and artists already call MySpace Music home. By partnering with these industry leaders, our vision for MySpace Music as the definitive platform for unlimited artistic expression and unrestricted user experience is finally being realized,” he said.

The good news is that users will not be limited to how many times they download a song to playlists, each of which can hold 100 songs.

MySpace Music’s e-commerce feature will allow artists to sell tickets and merchandise to fans and generate commercial revenue. Currently, the service is supported by ads and sponsorships. In fact, McDonald’s, Toyota, Sony Pictures, and State Farm are sponsoring the service.

Time to Listen

Users have been anticipating the new service since MySpace and the music companies first announced the service in April.

Users were greeted with this message from MySpace President Thomas Anderson:
“MySpace Music has gotten a big upgrade. Today you’ll find that some of the world’s biggest bands have added their entire discography to MySpace — all the albums and CDs they’ve ever recorded!”

Anderson went on to…