From the sounds of it (no pun intended), MySpace Music should be beneficial for all parties involved – MySpace, record labels, artists, Users, advertisers and music e-Tailers. The service, which is due out any day now (sometime this month), will supposedly offer the entire catalogs of Universal, SonyBMG, and Warner Music (77% of all U.S. album sales come from these three according to Nielsen SoundScan as quoted by Fortune).

You can tell that NBC Universal (NBC U) really appreciates the opportunities that the Internet can present them with.

Online video competition has just gotten a little more heated. Amazon Video On Demand is making over 40,000 movie and television show titles available for streaming. Before, customers could only download titles and watch them on a PC via Amazon’s Unbox or on their TiVo box. Now you can do that or stream the titles to watch them instantly.

iTunes vs. Kid Rock and The Music Industry

The Wall Street Journal took a look at why some artists are keeping their music off iTunes. Because the store does not allow full album only downloads, Kid Rock, AC/DC and others have opted out. Some acts like Radiohead did it to protect the artistic integrity of their work while others are clear that their motivation is money. Single tracks don’t net the same profits that albums do.

Another app has been banned from iTunes. The issue this time wasn’t copyright like that of "Tris." This time it was a matter of censorship, and it wasn’t even strictly in China like the recent "Songs for Tibet" controversy.

It’s not been a good week for developers of well-established game knock-offs. Facebook favorite Scrabulous, a Scrabble-like game developed by two brothers in India was just removed in the UK and Australia, after already being forced down from the social network in North America last month.

Apple is everywhere in the news this week, with its big score on the American Customer Satisfaction Index, its MobileMe problems, its iPhone 3G lawsuit, and now issues with the Chinese government. Apple’s iTunes store has been blocked in China for pushing a controversial benefit album.

Digital music service Rhapsody, said it will begin offering MP3 downloads without DRM (Digital Rights Management) restrictions starting today.

The MP3 tracks will be compatible with Apple’s iPod. Rhapsody vice president Neil Smith said that not being compatible with the iPod had limited Rhapsody’s reach. Previously the company had focused on its subscription service, which offered unlimited songs streaming for $13 to $15 a month.

Sometimes comments are made at inauspicious times. Just a day after KISS bassist Gene Simmons declared that the music industry is dead and fans had killed it, Apple announced iTunes reached the 5 billion song download mark.

That’s 5 billion legally purchased downloads. The company is also proud to announce along with that milestone, iTunes customers are renting or purchasing around 50,000 movies per day, making the virtual media store the most popular online movie destination.

Who knew? A study by OTX finds that on average teens (aged 13-17) spend 11.5 hours online a week (yep, not a day . . . no comment on how many hours I spend online a day. . . .). Nearly a quarter of teens spend over 15 hours online per week, while 45% spent eight hours or less online.

HBO has reached a deal with Apple to offer half a dozen of its shows on iTunes.

Programs that will be available from HBO on iTunes include "The Sopranos," "Sex and the City," "Deadwood," "Rome," "Flight of the Conchords" and "The Wire."