MySpace denies antitrust action is pending against its Music site

BetaNews spoke with MySpace reps last night regarding the speculation that's been going on since last week about possible antitrust actions, including in Europe, preventing MySpace Music from launching its new, dedicated site.

Much of the talk was fueled by a particular news article, which MySpace told us was "based mostly on conjecture." The article discusses precedents set by indie groups in European courts, most notably the ongoing opposition to SMEI by independent organization Impala, hinting at preferential pricing and discriminative practices by MySpace against indie music producers.

MySpace representatives told BetaNews that it is not aware of any such suits being aimed at the new site, therefore discounting that as a reason for the week delay in the site's unveiling.

"We are not aware of any antitrust complaint or inquiry pending against either MySpace or MySpace Music," we were told. "MySpace Music welcomes indie artists and is not blocking content from them or other labels. Our goal is to provide the indie community with powerful tools and monetization channels to enable them to access revenue streams previously unavailable."

MySpace Music is a joint venture with three of the four major labels that will offer ad-supported streams of their catalogs. The missing party in MySpace music, as of right now, is EMI. Since the delay, rumors have also begun to circulate that MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe has been seen at EMI's London headquarters, suggesting there are attempts under way to bring the label on board.

Meanwhile, spy camera-esque screenshots of the new site were anonymously leaked to TechCrunch yesterday, showing the new homepage and player.