Loudeye Providing Samples to MSN Music Service

Chalk up another customer for Loudeye (www.loudeye.com). It announced on Tuesday that it is providing music samples for the MSN network's music service. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The music samples will be integrated into the MSN Music Web site (music.msn.com).

Loudeye said it has the advantage of its relationships with the five major record labels and over 800 independent labels, in providing the samples. Ever since Loudeye's acquisition of DiscoverMusic, one of the more popular music sample companies, Loudeye has almost exclusively concentrated on that narrow field.

MSN's music site is slowly adding new technologies to helps music lovers. It lets users search for music, offers a "SoundsLike" technology to find songs that are similar, plus lets users create favorites by selecting different moods or tempos. These technologies were supplied by Mongo Music, which Microsoft acquired last year for an undisclosed sum.

"MSN is focused on delivering high-quality music services that deliver value to consumers, including an extensive music library and a unique listening experience," said Larry Hyrb, editor-in-chief of MSN Music at Microsoft Corporation. "Adding Loudeye's music samples will enhance MSN efforts to heighten the consumer experience and facilitate point-of-sale CD purchases."

Loudeye said it has over 2.5 million samples, supplying them to over 85 online music sites like Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, CDNOW, BMG Direct and Tower Records. It recently made deals to supply samples to America Online (for its Spinner.com radio site).

Last week, Loudeye also entered into a deal with Napster to supply song identification.