The long-expected launch of MySpace Music is happening in drips and drabs. On Sunday MySpace and major music label partners in the joint venture said MySpace Music will launch with four big name advertisers: McDonald’s, State Farm, Toyota and Sony Pictures.

But MySpace still did not confirm when it would launch — though that’s widely expected this week.

In the meantime, several blogs, led by TechCrunch, report that the partners are seeking third party funding of up to $100 million for MySpace Music, valuing the company at around $2 billion. Reuters has not been able to confirm this through our sources yet.

Also, LA Times reports that Facebook’s former chief operating officer Owen Van Natta and ex-Universal Music exec Andy Schuon are said to be in the running to be chief executive of MySpace Music, an appointment that MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe had hoped would be confirmed by now.

 Keep an eye on:

• Best Buy agrees to buy Napster for $121 million (Reuters)
• Electronic Arts ends merger talks with Take Two (Reuters)
• AT&T will ‘temporarily reduce’ broadband speeds (Ars Technica)

(Reuters photo of Chris DeWolfe)

Progress?

Video games company Electronic Arts has just updated Wall Street on the latest stage in its drawn-out $2 billion bid for Take-Two Interactive Software with news that it will allow its tender offer to expire at midnight New York time.

But Take-Two, maker of the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, said it is now willing to provide a management presentation to EA containing non-public information in connection with the bid such as its three-year product release schedule and financial projections.

EA and Take-Two’s chief executives exchanged letters over the weekend and had a phone conversation on Friday.

Here’s an excerpt from Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick’s letter to EA Chief Executive John Riccitiello dated Aug 17:

The Company has made significant strides since EA first expressed interest in the Company….I believe our presentation will enable you to understand better the value of our Company to EA.

 Here’s an excerpt from Riccitiello’s Aug 18 response:

We no longer believe we can integrate Take-Two ahead of the important holiday season….we  require due diligence to support a transaction and are therefore letting the tender offer expire tonight. However, we are pleased to accept your offer to review your management presentation as outlined in your letter.

(Photo Reuters)

Keep an eye on:

* Wal-Mart to sell rock band AC/DC’s album exclusively. (Wall Street Journal)

*US Federal Communications Commission will decide next month if it plans to employ unused TV channels to provide cheap high-speed Internet networks. (Wall Street Journal)

*NBC has been a surprise winner at the Olympic Games in Beijing. (New York Times)

It’s been a rough few weeks for cable operator Comcast Corp. U.S. regulator FCC is on the verge of punishing it for allegedly fiddling with subscribers’ use of peer-to-peer services like BitTorrent while New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is threatening to sue if Comcast doesn’t agree to join other Internet service providers to block access to child pornography.

But the largest U.S. cable operator is hoping to win over its customers by offering a free Nintendo Wii to new subscribers to its Triple Play package of video, Internet and phone.

The national free Wii offer runs from Monday till August 17th for new subscribers who have to agree to sign up for two years to one of Comcast’s premium Triple Play packages: Preferred Plus (at $129 a month) and Premier Triple Play ($159 a month).

Comcast seems to be adopting the tactics of a major rival. Earlier on Monday we posted about Verizon’s drop-off in FiOS TV subscriber growth last quarter after it stopped giving away flatscreen high-def TVs. The expensive marketing push certainly helped Verizon establish the FiOS TV brand in the minds of consumers in areas where it markets such as New York.

Maybe the Wii, which still can’t be found on some store shelves, will help Comcast regain some of that customer love. Or perhaps that’s money better spent on improving customer service .

(Photo: Reuters)

Electronic Arts provided a glimpse at “Spore,” a much-hyped game where players begin with their own basic microbe and customize their creature to weather environmental conditions and population changes on Earth. Reuters video game reporter Jennifer Martinez gives us the story from the news conference. 

During the  company’s E3 press conference, EA showed a brief trailer of the game and set a release date, Sept. 7, for the latest title from legendary game creator Will Wright, known for creating “SimCity” and “The Sims.”

EA has invested $80 million, according to one analyst, into making ”Spore,” which was inspired by Wright’s love of science and his favorite toy as a child, a chemistry set.

“Science and creativity are an amazingly fertile intersection,” said Wright at the news conference.  “Science was something you could make stuff out of.”

The storyline of Spore takes its cue from Charles Darwin, as the game is essentially a virtual action game based on the scientist’s evolution theory.  For example, if players want their creature to have 360-degree vision, they are able to add extra eyes to the character’s body.

The “survival of the fittest” game has already gained large following of fans through EA’s web launch of its “Creature Creator,” where users can log onto the site and create their own Spore character. 

Within the first 22 hours of the Creature Creator’s launch, over 100,000 Spore creatures were created by users.  Over a million creatures were created by the end of the week, according to EA.