Los Angeles - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace online social network announced on Thursday the addition of a number of independent music distributors to its nascent MySpace Music service. The deals with Nettwerk Music Group, INgrooves, IRIS Distribution and RoyaltyShare, along with Wind-up Records, will add several hundred thousand songs to the catalog available on MySpace Music.

San Francisco - MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe did not rule out the possibility that the company, which recently launched a digital music joint venture with the major record labels, may at some point enter the market with its own branded digital music player, Reuters reported. "It's possible," DeWolfe said at the Web 2.0 summit this week. "If anything, we'll [MySpace Music] be accretive to iPod sales... Unless we develop a device," DeWolfe later added. In related news, a source told CNET News.com that MTV chief of digital music Courtney Holt has accepted the position as head of MySpace Music, although a contract has not yet been signed.

San Francisco - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace has offered the CEO position at its new MySpace Music joint venture with the major record labels to Courtney Holt, who currently serves as executive vice president of digital music and media at MTV Networks, a music industry source with knowledge of the talks told CNET News.com. Both Holt, a former Interscope Records executive, and MySpace declined to comment on the matter for CNET. MySpace has been looking to fill the position for some months now, and launched the new music venture with the spot still unfilled.

Los Angeles - MySpace Music, the joint venture between the News Corp.-owned (NYSE: NWS) social network and the major record labels, announced on Thursday that it has signed a deal with IODA to bring the independent digital music distributor's catalog of more than one million tracks from over 50,000 artists to the service.

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s MySpace is reassessing the private equity elements of its new MySpace Music joint venture with the major record labels, which may be seen by the company as too complicated and not necessary in the end, PaidContent reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace claims that its new MySpace Music section has now streamed more than 1 billion songs since launching on Sept. 24. MySpace Music offers free streaming of songs from all four major labels and some independents, including labels represented by digital distributor The Orchard.

Los Angeles - After independent record label bodies including Merlin and A2IM criticized MySpace (NYSE: NWS) for not offering them an equity position in its MySpace Music joint venture with the major record labels, MySpace responded in a statement saying it offered all labels the same deal, while independent music digital distributor The Orchard, which signed on with MySpace Music, explained its decision. "We have offered a relationship with Merlin that provides equal opportunities to Merlin's labels and Merlin's artists that we have provided to ALL labels and artists whether they are Indie Artists, Major Artists or Unsigned artists," reads the MySpace statement.

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace launched its new music service without having first secured deals with top independent labels such as Beggars Group, Domino and Koch, a move that Merlin, the independent rights body that represents them, called "incredibly disappointing." MySpace Music is a joint venture between the social network and major labels Warner Music, EMI, Universal Music and Sony BMG, and these labels and their artists will therefore share in the revenue generated by the service.

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace announced that it will launch its long-awaited new music service at 9 P.M. Pacific time tonight, and has signed both holdout major label EMI and a number of independents to its joint venture with the record labels. Along with EMI, Sony BMG, Warner Music and Universal Music, MySpace Music will allow free streaming and the creation of unlimited playlists featuring songs from artists represented by independent digital music distributors The Orchard, ADA, Red, Fontana and Caroline.

San Francisco - Major label EMI, the lone holdout from MySpace's (NYSE: NWS) forthcoming music service joint venture with the other majors, is now close to signing a deal to join the venture, CNET News.com reported, citing two sources close to the negotiations. An EMI spokeswoman confirmed the companies "are in talks" for CNET, and a source said the companies are "trying to jump some final hurdles," adding that EMI might be on board for launch.

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace announced on Monday that McDonald's, Sony (NYSE: SNE) Pictures, State Farm, and Toyota have signed on as charter advertisers for its forthcoming MySpace Music service, and will sponsor free album downloads, playlists and other new features. The service is expected to offer MySpace's 120 million users unlimited music streaming, as well as the ability to add an entire playlist of songs to their profiles -- instead of the current single song -- and provide links to purchase DRM-free tracks from Amazon MP3.

Los Angeles - The Los Angeles Times reported on Friday that News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace, which has been searching for a chief executive for its forthcoming MySpace Music service for the past six months, has narrowed its search to finalists including Andy Schuon and Owen Van Natta. Shuon was an executive at Universal Music Group, and headed that company's Pressplay digital music joint venture with Universal before heading programming at MTV and Infinity Broadcasting. Van Natta is currently a vice president at Amazon.com, but left Facebook in April, where he was head of business development and strategic partnerships.

San Francisco - MySpace (NYSE: NWS) will launch its music service joint venture with three of the four major record labels in September, CEO Chris DeWolfe told reporters at the Fortune Brainstorm conference yesterday, TechCrunch reported.