NBC Universal’s Oxygen is launching a new music initiative in order to capture audience members and introduce the network’s girl-power demo to a roster of emerging artists. Among the first group of musicians who will receive this new 30-second on-air plugs are: Atlantic Records recording artist Laura Izibor, Danish alternative duo The Asteroids Galaxy Tour and Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Caitlin Crosby (pictured above).

According to Billboard.biz, the campaign, referred to as “Sounds Like Oxygen” was created in order to give audience members a better experience. Jason Klarman, Oxygen’s GM, states:

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Hulu, the site that offers free streaming TV shows and movies, is trying to strike deals with major labels Universal, EMI, Sony and Warner to host music videos. The dealings indicate that Hulu is planning to compete directly with YouTube-backed music video site Vevo.com, which is expected to launch later this year.

YouTube has already teamed up with Universal Music Group (UMG) for Vevo, but is also interested in negotiating the addition of the remaining labels to the new video site. Ironically, if all goes as planned, Hulu and Vevo will both stream the exact same music videos licensed from the same labels. They will undoubtedly be contending with each other for our attention in the near future, but if they are offering the same content, how will we choose between the two?

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Too many headlines, too little time. But never fear! BeatCrave has taken the liberty of scouting out the weekend’s top stories and tightening them up for your speed-reading pleasure. Take a look at the latest scoops:

• Austin Powell of the Austin Chronicle has printed a story that he’s received confirmation that Metallica will take a giant step outside of arena-land to play this Friday (March 20) at Austin, TX’s legendary Stubb’s BBQ for SXSW‘s “Guitar Hero: Metallica” showcase. The venue holds only 2,100 people, so if you plan on going and want to make it in by 10 p.m. to see the band, I recommend getting in line the night before if possible. SXSW won’t publicly affirm Powell’s statement, but I’d say get your metal horns ready, just in case.
• UK’s pop-rockers Klaxons are the latest victims of overbearing label execs. Or at least that’s how the situation appears, because the band has admitted that they will re-record parts of their second album after Universal rejected the first take, which band member Jamie Reynolds described as “really dense” and “psychedelic.” Reynolds indicated that the tweaked tracks, which will be done in four weeks, would be more pop-oriented, but it’s not clear if this is more the band’s decision or the label’s. At any rate, it’s sad knowing that the album in stores won’t be what the band was originally shooting for… bands need to stand up for their music!

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It is a fact that the music industry is in recession. In the aftermath of 2008, when miserable record sales and widespread file-sharing destroyed profits for major labels, the music industry is now scrambling for new ways to get their hands on your hard-earned cash. Competing with “free” isn’t easy, and the industry has shown it’s ready to adopt creative attitudes toward music consumers and free distribution, while simultaneously trying to implement new business models that force money into their pockets via taxes or subscriptions. It’s time to take a closer look at these schemes.

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Rock Band Wii gets its own music store, how Warner Music killed Facebook music, and Wikipedia gets ready for a digital media explosion, all in today’s Round Up!

• Ars Technica reports that Harmonix and Nintendo will be finally opening the music store for the Wii version of Rock Band 2. There are now 30 songs available online, ranging from The Police to The Offspring, and more songs will be added consistently every week. This means a big step for Nintendo in moneymaking power, or wait, maybe not. [ars technica]
• Facebook has been trying to seal an agreement with the four major labels to provide a free streaming service on their web site. The Washington Post says Universal, Sony BMG and EMI agreed to a deal, but Warner Music held out, and ruined it for everybody. [Washington Post]
• Wikipedia is upgrading their servers and storage to allow for larger photos and videos to be uploaded. Slashdot describes that Wikipedia will up their media storage from 2TB to 48TB and the limit on file uploads from 20MB to 100MB. This will make 2-hour long, high-quality videos possible on the free encyclopedia, so start uploading! [Slashdot]

MySpace’s music sales program launched today, but it is yet another music store that fails many customers.  The four major music companies – Sony BMG, Universal, Warner, and EMI  have partnered with MySpace to create MySpace Music, leaving out independent labels that were unwilling to accept subordinate status.  Merlin, a group representing a number of independent labels whose market share totals 9 percent, wants a stake in MySpace music, not just the advertising revenue MySpace and the four majors, which all have stakes proportional to their own market shares, are offering. 

So a bunch of artists are again left out of a big online music store.  The major labels never seem to learn that they can’t control the music industry the way they used to and rule over all of the little labels.  But as this week shows, corporate America is not especially longsighted.

Source: Reuters