Yahoo Inc. is entering an alliance with Duet, a joint venture between Vivendi Universal and Sony Music Entertainment, the Web portal said yesterday. The agreement calls for Yahoo to offer Duet's subscription-based music service, which is scheduled to debut this summer.
Duet's service will allow users to compile personalized play lists and share them with other members. The service is expected to launch with streaming music and will add downloads shortly afterward.
Duet will offer music from Sony Music and Universal Music on a nonexclusive basis. It also plans to offer music from other companies.
The Yahoo-Duet deal follows this week's announcement that RealNetworks, AOL Time Warner's Warner Music Group, EMI Recorded Music and Bertelsmann's BMG Entertainment will form a new subsidiary called MusicNet that will create a subscription service as well. The companies plan to debut MusicNet this summer.
