Everyone Onboard For MySpace Music Store?

One week after MySpace reportedly got close to signing a deal with two major music labels, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group Corp, rumors have it that another big name prepares to get onboard the music boat: Universal Music. The rumors haven’t been confirmed, but sources familiar with the situation said such a deal is about to happen.

Rumors of a possible deal between MySpace and big names in the industry music have started circulating earlier this month, as several newspapers reported, although to this date, none of the assumptions has been confirmed. The New York Post reported that users could expect later this year to find anything from digital downloads (MP3) to ad-supported streaming video and ringtones.

Talks about a joint venture between MySpace and Sony BMG, Warner Music circulated last week, as part of a project that is said to rival Apple’s iTunes online store. So far, it seems that only three of the four major labels in the music industry have possibly agreed to shake hands, but there was still no clear sign from EMI Group, who just got a new president of its digital music business in the person of Douglas Merrill, former Google executive.

“It’s really creating a robust monetization component to MySpace and having a focused music effort that could be the MTV of a new generation,” a source that wished to remain anonymous told Reuters. So far, none of the representatives of the five names said to be involved in this transaction wished to make any comments.

This is a huge deal for MySpace, considering their joint venture would bring the first three largest music companies as business partners, possibly four, if EMI agrees to join the deal. Still a long way to go, but a MySpace music store could create quite a competition to Apple’s iTunes, which was recently declared the number 2 music retailer in the United States in 2007 after Wal-Mart, as NPD Group’s MusicWatch survey showed.