MySpace in Talks with Facebook, MSN

MySpace has been doing a lot of talking, as The Telegraph reported that the social-networking service is in talks with rival Facebook about content sharing, while AllThingsD reports that Microsoft’s MSN is in preliminary discussions about using MySpace Music to help power music offerings on the portal.

The Telegraph reported that the potential MySpace-Facebook deal could lead to MySpace music and video footage being shared via Facebook Connect.

Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg told The Telegraph:

Facebook is focusing on building the best technology that helps people share content, while at MySpace, they are focusing on more of a content-led strategy. We would like to have their content, as we already do with many other sites, shared across our network because it is good for our users.

We are open to working with MySpace and are in talks with them at the moment. (MySpace chief executive Owen Van Natta) used to work at Facebook, and we are still very close to him.

And Van Natta told The Telegraph:

We are in talks with Facebook, and other sites, about how we could partner with them. Partnerships are going to be a big part of our strategy moving forward as a lot of value can be derived from them: Facebook is about core communications with your friendship network, whereas MySpace is about congregating around popular content with people who share your interests.

As for MSN, sources told AllThingsD Microsoft executives don’t think they can do as good a job with MSN Music as MySpace is doing, and they don’t see the point of duplicating the complex deals with music labels that MySpace already has.

One source close to the situation told AllThingsD:

It’s a decision to make it so that MSN does less better, so there will be a focus of attention on a smaller number of categories in which we can be either No. 1 or No. 2, rather than No. 4 or No. 5.

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