Live Nation to Sell MP3s Online

Live Nation, the concert promotion and now ticketing site, announced it will begin to sell unprotected MP3s from three of the four major labels, Wired reports, which will put the site on the same mobile music footing as eMusic, Amazon MP3, and countless other online destinations. But rather using than an iTunes-style database, Live Nation’s MP3 store will “route fans to artist pages somewhat similar to the ones found on MySpace.”

Live Nation already has deals with Sony Music, Universal Music Group and EMI to sell DRM-free MP3 tracks from artist pages on its own site, the report said. That puts it ahead of Apple, who only has that kind of contract with EMI, although it’s still missing a deal with Warner Music Group.

“At least one artist has been complaining recently about iTunes lacking a strong ‘artist page’ like the ones found on MySpace,” the article said, “because artist pages can draw fans in ways that just aren’t possible with a list of albums—think blogs, comments, images, videos and all the other stuff that typically surfaces on a band’s MySpace page.” The report hailed the deal as yet another major label move away from DRM.

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.