Mousetrap weblog: Sony Ericsson's unlimited music offering

Millions of free songs from artists ranging from Amy Macdonald to U2 will be made available from today in an attempt by MySpace to challenge the dominance of Apple in digital music.

MySpace previously had restricted the number of free songs that bands could place on their pages to four, but the website is scrapping that limit. It intends to make artists' entire catalogues available for streaming.

The move amounts to a recognition that it is no longer possible to force people to buy music because there is so much pirated material available online, although MySpace hopes to recoup its costs by selling advertising. It will also charge about 79p a song for downloads if users want to keep tracks on their computers or MP3 players.

Travis Katz, managing director of MySpace International, said: “The way music is consumed has changed dramatically in the last few years, but we think a lot of people will still buy music if you make it easy for them.”

MySpace is also introducing a standalone player and songs will be available in the open MP3 format.

The website has signed the four leading music majors - EMI, Universal, Sony and Warner - and all of their acts. Artists such as Girls Aloud, Oasis and REM will be covered by the agreement to create MySpace Music. MySpace is owned by News Corporation, which is also the parent company of The Times.

The service is available initially in the United States, with Britain following “as soon as possible”, according to Mr Katz. He said: “If we can make it available before Christmas here, we will.”

EMI, home to Coldplay and The Beatles, signed up yesterday. The other three majors have been on board for several weeks. EMI will receive some shares in the music venture, as have its competitors, but the exact shareholdings remain unclear.

The struggling recorded music industry is licensing a range of new services that give fans easy access to songs as it tries to woo consumers who have been able to freely copy music from file-sharing websites, such as LimeWire and eMule.

Bands have also begun to realise that releasing some free music can boost sales. This year Coldplay gave away a song to encourage fans to buy a copy of their new album.

Next month, Nokia will launch Comes With Music in the UK on a phone priced at about £200. It will allow consumers to download an unlimited number of songs for nothing, although the songs will remain linked to the phone. Nokia has already reached agreement with the big record labels.

Apple's iTunes continues to dominate digital music sales, accounting for about four out of every five songs sold online. However, Apple has frustrated the music groups by insisting on fixed pricing, when they would like to charge more than 79p a song for material from established artists and less for lesser-known talent.

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