Skype has now cut a deal with EMI Music Publishing to sell EMI tunes as music downloads and ringtones on the Skype web site according to an article in the UK Times. This follows on the heels of their recent deal with the Warner Music Group, though that one was just for ringtones. This latest deal has many speculating about whether Skype will take a stab at competing with the popular iTunes music store. While it’s hard for me to envision Skype putting a dent in that market, Phil Wolff from the Skype Journal has an interesting take on the possibilities:

Skype doesn’t sell iPods but they have another competitive advantage. Skype’s inherently social network will enable more sales than iTunes, assuming similar functionality. After buying a song, I should be able to gift it to a friend for $0.50, play it in a conference call, download automatically to my mp3 player, mix into a podcast (be sure to negotiate that license first), share playlists like mood indicators to specific users, even broadcast what I’m playing now via mood indicator.

Update: Skype Journal is reporting that it’s really all just about ringtones. That makes a lot more sense to me.