In the latest challenge to iTunes and the major labels, MySpace launched its own music store. The site claims over three million listings for bands from performers own pages to fan pages to artist pages set up by labels.

Similar to eMusic and MP3Tunes, the files will be unprotected MP3 files. Artists can set the price of their music. MySpace will retain 45 cents of each sale. It's a competitive consumer-friendly offering for artists.

The MySpace store is powered by SNOCAP. SNOCAP was founded by Napster bad boy Shawn Fawning and also supplies music to P2P networks.

Music was the key to MySpace's rise. So the only surprise is how long it's taken to provide a store. For now however it's YAOMS (Yet Another Online Music Store). The MySpace store seems to be forgetting who made it what it is today - its members. ... Or perhaps it didn't forget. It's just a sign that Fox, the new corporate overlord, is fully in control.

MySpace exploded not because artists have their own pages. There are hundreds of such sites. It succeeded because it made it easy for music lovers to integrate music into their own member pages. People identify themselves through music. They make it a part of THEIR brand, not the other way around. That's the storefront that MySpace and artists should be focusing on. Companies like Weedshare know this. But there appear to be no incentives for the tens of millions of MySpace fans to benefit through promoting or selling music.