Music companies are, understandably, wary about suggesting that they are giving their content away for free.

Yet the decision by Universal, the world’s largest music company, to back a new company that will diverge from rivals’ business models by offering songs for free and funding the service with advertising, reflects the willingness of music groups and other content providers to experiment with new ways to reach consumers on the internet. The FT revealed on Tuesday that Universal was supporting a new venture, SpiralFrog, which will launch in December.