MP3.COM PREPS MY.MP3.COM
START UP AGAIN

Having settled many of its major legal woes, MP3.com said it would re-launch its once controversial My.MP3.com service Tuesday (12/5), offering both paid and free versions. The move had been expected for some time (hitsdailydouble.com, 11/15).

The My.MP3.com service allows listeners to store songs online if they have already bought the CD. It has been dormant in recent months while the company waged a legal battle against the major record labels and publishers, which had filed copyright suits against MP3.com for using their songs without permission and without paying for the copyrights.

MP3.com can restore this service because it has struck legal deals with all of the major labels and publishers.

The new paid My.MP3.com service will charge users $49.95 a year and allow them to store as many as 500 CDs worth of songs, the company said. The free version will allow storage of 25 CDs and will be supported by advertising, said company top dog Michael Robertson.

The firm still is facing suits from independent music labels and shareholders. In addition, terms reached with the Universal Music Group have provoked objections from some other major labels (hitsdailydouble.com, 11/20). MP3.com is paying Universal $53.4 million in damages and attorney fees, while its terms with the other major labels were estimated at around $20 million each.