AOL beefs up music service

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - America Online announced a package of initiatives Monday in a move that will put the popular AOL Music service in head-to-head competition with Microsoft's MSN Music. "We've been very quiet, purposefully," said Kevin Conroy, senior VP and head of AOL Music. "We wanted to be organized and ready to deliver what we believe is going to redefine the online music experience and deliver a richer overall online music experience to our members."
Topping the list are two new endeavors that will add to such existing AOL services as the Webcaster Spinner.com and the Winamp media player community. One of the initiatives is the Artist Discovery Network, which was to go live Monday. It features content from major and independent record companies including Arista, Ark 21, Atlantic, DreamWorks, Elektra, Grand Royal, J Records, Priority, RCA, RLG, TVT and Warner Bros.