• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, April 6, 2009

Yahoo Monday announced an initiative that will draw on music services and content from partners including Amazon.com, Apple and YouTube in a new section on Yahoo Music called Artist Pages.

In addition to offering tour dates, music downloads and streaming music, the new platform eventually will allow users to create their own custom pages as Yahoo opens it up to any musician or record label looking for wider exposure.

"With Yahoo Music's Artist Pages, we're creating a truly open and indispensable music destination that will drive music fans to Yahoo! first on their path to music discovery, experience and purchase," said Jeff Dossett, senior vice president of Yahoo's North American Audience Group, in a statement.

The move is part of Yahoo's broader strategy to open up the Web portal to a wider range of third-party and user-generated content to better compete with social networks such as MySpace and Facebook. Music has long been a strength of MySpace, from its start as hub for indie bands to the launch of MySpace Music in partnership with the four major labels last year.

Yahoo announced plans to overhaul Yahoo Music in September after the property suffered a series of setbacks including the shuttering of its subscription music service last year. Whether Artist Pages, which formally launches Tuesday, can help revive Yahoo Music will be a test of the company's open strategy.