MySpace Launches Video for Karaoke

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MySpace, the world’s premier social network, today announced the launch of a new MySpace Karaoke - a complete redesign of the industry-leading online karaoke channel. Highlights of the revamped service include streamlined navigation, improved sharing of recordings, a dedicated upload manager, and video recording – a major addition to the site’s range of features.

“With the redesign and the added video experience, we expect to widen our reach even further.”

“MySpace Karaoke is a great way for the MySpace community to express themselves, share their musical talents and connect around shared interests - the type of interaction MySpace has encouraged and fostered since its inception. In less than six months since its launch, over four million users have visited MySpace Karaoke and there are over 500,000 recordings, making it the largest karaoke venue in the world,” said Nimrod Lev, Senior Vice President and General Manager of MySpace Karaoke. “With the redesign and the added video experience, we expect to widen our reach even further.”

MySpace has licensing partnerships with all the major music publishers and many independent publishers, providing MySpace Karaoke users with access to thousands of licensed karaoke tracks. MySpace works closely with these publishers to acquire the legal rights to music and offer the most comprehensive online karaoke song catalog.

Video:

The arrival of video offers MySpace Karaoke members a way to more completely demonstrate their singing talent and express their personalities via a medium with the potential to reach millions of people. The MySpace Karaoke video recorder is the result of months of vigorous development efforts. The recorder is the first application of its kind, and is built on the site’s proprietary technology, allowing users to record video in either Standard or High-Definition formats. Users can take full advantage of the site’s advanced functionality on their home computers, with only a microphone, webcam and Internet connection.

Series of Contests:

MySpace Karaoke is conducting a series of high profile, nationwide karaoke contests to engage users and encourage them to try out the new features. MySpace Karaoke will host these contests in partnership with today’s top musical artists - including Jesse McCartney and Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Seal. Contestants will perform and record their best renditions of the artists’ hit songs. Winners will be chosen by the artists, and prizes will be awarded to first, second, and third place winners. Previous contests included Alanis Morissette, Elvis Presley, and MySpace Records’ own Kate Voegele.

The series kicks off with the Jesse McCartney karaoke contest, taking place from Oct. 15 – 27, 2008. The Seal karaoke contest will run from Nov. 11- 24, 2008.

About MySpace Karaoke

MySpace Karaoke is the world’s largest user-generated music service, which brings singing enthusiasts and their fans together to demonstrate their talent and express their personalities. The service enables members to easily sing, record and share personalized renditions of their favorite songs with the MySpace community. Users can rate other members’ recordings and give them feedback, save recordings and post them to their MySpace profiles. With just a microphone and/or webcam, and an Internet connection, MySpace Karaoke offers users access to a broad selection of fully licensed tracks. The Web-based application delivers sing-along lyrics and recording capabilities, and also offers vocal and instrumental versions of fan favorites. Using state-of-the-art technology, MySpace Karaoke combines the highest quality of audio, video and recording capabilities available online, with the most advanced sharing options.

About MySpace

MySpace, a unit of Fox Interactive Media Inc., is the premier lifestyle portal for connecting with friends, discovering popular culture, and making a positive impact on the world. MySpace has created a connected global community by integrating web profiles, blogs, instant messaging, e-mail, music streaming, music videos, photo galleries, classified listings, events, groups, college communities, and member forums. MySpace's international network includes more than 30 localized community sites in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Latin America, Mexico, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, India, Japan, and New Zealand. Fox Interactive Media is a division of News Corp. (NYSE:NWS) (NYSE:NWS.A) (ASX:NWS) (ASX:NWSLV).

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