Australia Welcomes MySpace Music

New Offering Provides Access to Ad-Supported Streaming of the Most Robust Music Catalogue Available

SYDNEY−October 1, 2009−MySpace today announced the official launch of the new MySpace Music platform in Australia. As the first territory in a global rollout, MySpace Music brings to Australia all of the functionality currently available to United States based users including an ever-growing catalogue of fully licensed audio tracks, user-friendly e-commerce solutions, personal music players and user and artist playlisting, in addition to monetisation opportunities for all artists.

MySpace Music is a joint venture among MySpace, EMI Music, Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, MySpace Music not only offers users in Australia access to content from the four major music labels, but also access to The Orchard and IODA catalogues as well: two of the largest independent digital music aggregators.

MySpace Music also offers users in Australia the opportunity to purchase and download single songs and full albums on iTunes. Additional products and functionality include:

MySpace Music Product Overview

* Free and unlimited ad-supported, full-length audio streaming of single songs and albums
* Free and unlimited ability to create and share playlists with easy addition of tracks to playlists via drag-and-drop functionality
* Access to MySpace Music’s vast catalogue of content from EMI Music, Sony Music, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, The Orchard and IODA artists and more
* The ability to purchase and download music on iTunes
* The My Music personal music management toolset allows users to create and edit their playlists, discover what their friends, favourite bands and celebrities are listening to, as well as browse and search for songs
* The Artist Activity Feed in the pop-up player provides users with constant updates from their favorite artists, including new songs added to player, blog entries, recent uploaded photos and updates to their playlists

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MySpace Music launches today with featured playlists from high profile Aussies including Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Missy Higgins, The Veronicas, The Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Turnbull, Environment Minister Peter Garrett Deputy Leader of the Opposition Julie Bishop and Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey.

“The nature of music consumption globally has changed, and MySpace Music is delighted to be part of that evolution,” said Rebekah Horne, MySpace’s Managing Director and SVP of International. “MySpace pioneered an open and social model which encourages the discovery of artists and music, and enables distribution of music and content worldwide. We’re excited to bring this experience to our Australian users whilst offering millions of artists on MySpace an unparalleled opportunity to connect and stay in touch with music fans.”

An ad-supported platform, MySpace Music will launch with a range of unique programs from inaugural Australian sponsors Toyota and KFC. Toyota’s sponsorship includes a MySpace branded community The Pulse [www.myspace.com/thepulse] presented by Toyota Yaris. A destination for music enthusiasts, The Pulse will showcase two celebrity playlists each month and will also give Australian MySpace users the opportunity to win a range of exclusive prizes, including two tickets to the ARIA Awards and After Party in Sydney as well as a brand new Toyota Yaris.]

As KFC’s first ever online sponsorship venture, MySpace will create a new branded community called MySpace Music Real Bitz presented by KFC Krushers [www.myspace.com/realbitz]. The MySpace Music Real Bitz brand community will act as a hub for premium video content and will showcase short interviews with artists backstage at major music festivals across the nation.

Since officially launching in the United States in September 2008, MySpace Music has seen 1,017% growth in annual page traffic (according to Neilsen). This increase translates to a substantial user growth from 4.2 million unique visitors at launch to 20 million unique visitors in September 2009 (according to comScore).

Kiwi music fans will also have immediate to access MySpace Music, with the product also launching in New Zealand today.

MySpace Music hosts more than 5 million major, indie, and unsigned artist profiles, providing a vast artist-powered collection of songs, music videos, tour dates, blogs, and photos. MySpace’s deep, long-standing ties to the music community, has delivered numerous exclusive releases from some of the most popular and respected musicians in the world. The company’s new music product and marketing initiatives will greatly enhance the existing MySpace Music offline concert franchises including Secret Shows.

Source: MySpace