News from the Music Industry

Report: MTV to Merge Music Biz with RealNetworks

The newspaper’s online edition, citing people familiar with the matter, said MTV and RealNetworks, which runs subscription digital- music service Rhapsody, are joining forces in a bid to create stiffer competition for Apple Inc’s iTunes online music store.

Neither Viacom or RealNetworks could immediately be reached for comment.

Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc, is expected to supply mobile distribution for the joint venture’s digital content, the newspaper said, citing one of its sources.

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The pact with Verizon Wireless could bolster the new venture’s battle against iTunes, the Journal said, after Apple drew widespread criticism from mobile operators and consumers when it made AT&T Inc the sole U.S. provider of its iPhone.

The pact with RealNetworks likely means the end of MTV’s Urge, a digital service launched last year with Microsoft Corp, the Journal reported.