The Daily Swarm

FT:

MySpace, the News Corp-owned social networking site, has accelerated discussions with leading record labels about creating an online music service, according to people familiar with the matter.

After a round of recent negotiations, three of the four leading labels – Sony BMG, Warner Music and EMI – could reach agreements with MySpace before the end of the month, the people said, paving the way for MySpace Music to launch this year.

The one holdout is Universal Music, the largest record company, which has insisted that MySpace first resolve a lawsuit that it filed against the site over alleged copyright violation. The two sides have held discussions about a settlement, although they were not believed to have made much progress.

One person familiar with the talks said that MySpace was considering launching the service without Universal. MySpace and Universal declined to comment. Sony BMG, Warner and EMI were not immediately available to discuss the matter.

BrandWeek:

Want some social networking exposure on the cheap? Try MySpace.

Standard media banners on the once “it” place for marketers can be had for roughly half the price of Facebook ads, according to digital media buyers. The discounting has left some analysts wondering if MySpace has lost its cool factor.

News Corp.‘s MySpace CPM rate is $1.50 to $2. That’s down from as high as $3.25 during midyear 2007. Facebook banners, which are sold exclusively by Microsoft under a long-term deal, still command a CPM rate of $3 to $4. Nevertheless, eMarketer, New York, predicts MySpace will earn $850 million on social networking advertising in 2008 versus $205 million for Facebook. Neither company releases its ad revenue figures.