Given the fact that music and MySpace go hand-in-hand these days, it should come as no surprise that the insanely popular social networking site is now looking to launch its very own online music service. As part of a joint venture that would include the record industry’s ‘big four’ (Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, EMI Group, and Sony BMG Music Entertainment ), the music service, currently dubbed ‘MySpace Music’, would not only allow users to purchase music through the site, but also listen to copyrighted music for free (a featured which will be suppported by ad revenue). Peep:

The new proposal isn’t fully fleshed out, but people familiar with the plan said it is likely to include both free, streaming music and paid MP3 downloads, which can be played on virtually any portable device, including Apple Inc.’s popular iPod.

The streaming service would be supported by revenue from advertising sales, which would be split with the labels, these people said. MySpace executives have also discussed the possibility of selling merchandise like T-shirts through the service, and of running a paid subscription service that would let users play rented music on some specially configured portable devices, though probably not on iPods, these people said.

First Hulu, now this…I see you News Corp!

[via WSJ]