MTV Networks and RealNetworks hope to reduce iTunes' stranglehold on the online music market by merging their online stores, according to the Wall Street Journal.
MTV has scheduled a news conference concerning online music for 11:00 AM ET Tuesday, but company representatives declined to comment on the Journal's report, which cited unnamed sources.
Verizon and Vodafone will distribute the new alliance's content for mobile devices, the paper reported.
MTV, owned by Viacom, already runs Urge, its own music download service. MTV partnered with Microsoft on Urge, which launched in May 2006. RealNetworks runs Rhapsody, a subscription service which offers access to its entire catalogue for a monthly fee and also sells individual songs.
It was unclear what changes would be made to the Urge or Rhapsody services, both of which were still running on Tuesday morning.
Comments