MySpace seeks joint ventures for iTunes rival

MySpace, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp empire, is trying to tie up deals with a number of record labels to produce its own digital music service to compete with Apple's iTunes.

MySpace, which News Corp bought for $580m (£330m) in July 2005, is rumoured to have approached all four major music labels - Vivendi's Universal Music, Warner Music, EMI and Sony BMG about becoming involved in the service. But cutting a deal with Universal would be conditional on the music company and MySpace settling a copyright dispute.