MySpace and the music industry share a big hug

Any time the words "music" and "Internet" are mentioned in the same sentence, one would have to think that the music industry has its lawyers on the phone in a heartbeat.  Well, not in this case.

Several big music labels and MySpace announced an agreement that will see an upgrade in MySpace's music section in what will be called MySpace Music.  In the past, MySpace bands' pages have had some limited news and biographical sections along with anywhere from three to five songs, which could sometimes be downloaded for free.  Well, MySpace Music incorporates more information along with a jukebox and the ability to purchase music through Amazon.com.  

I saw reported on one Web site that individual songs could be purchased for $.79 to $.99.  If the majority of the songs are $.79, that could put a squeeze on some of the iTunes music store's fanbase.  Most individual songs on iTunes are $.99.

It's an interesting agreement, and Brad Stone, the author of that blog posting, seems to think it will gain MySpace more attention if users embed their MySpace Music jukeboxs in other forms of social media.