Almost since the beginning, MySpace has been synonymous with music. Now, the social network is reportedly in talks with major music labels to give its users free music, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The new service will allow users to listen to a variety of free music provided that they do so through MySpace.

Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group Corp., EMI Group Ltd. and Sony BMG Music Entertainment, a joint venture of Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann AG, are among the labels reportedly linked to MySpace.

A joint venture would give MySpace an added tool in its fight to keep ahead of Facebook. But it also would help the labels find a way to cash in on digital ad dollars at a time when iTunes, pirated music and sluggish CD sales have combined to raise troubling questions about the industry's future.

In a similar but unrelated deal, Google was linked earlier this month with the record industry. In that story, the search giant reportedly was looking for ways to use ad-supported music to break Baidu's stronghold on the Chinese market.