Taking a step in the right direction, sorta, MySpace is going to be offering loads of free music starting September 25. Technically, it isn’t really going to be free since it will likely be plastered with ads from the likes of McDonald’s, Sony, Toyota and so on. Still, it’s a pretty cool idea: You get to select all the tracks you want to slap onto your playlist and listen to them all for free with maybe a banner or two here and there to remind you who’s responsible for the luxury. There are already several programs and sites that allow you to do this but none so far that have garnered the approval of the big music companies. Looks like Sony BMG, Universal Music, Warner Music, and EMI (owner of The Beatles catalog and the cause for delay in their appearance on iTunes) are on board and totally supporting this venture. This is really good news for music lovers and for the music industry in general since it’s cool to be able to listen to the tracks you want to without jumping over hurdles or sneaking behind back doors. The only catch is you can listen to the music online only and aren’t able to download them onto your MP3 players. However if you hear it and like it, there will be direct links to Amazon.com’s music store. With Android having an Amazon music store app and now this feature on MySpace, iTunes is going to have a little competition.
