MP3.com relaunches CD 'locker' service

MP3.com's controversial online CD storage facility has re-emerged as a subscription-based service with backing from the major US recording companies.

My.MP3.com was relaunched yesterday as either a free or a premium service, following the company's settlement with the majority of the recording companies that had sued it for copyright infringement. However, MP3.com is still embroiled in legal wrangles with several independent labels.

Users get a choice of either a free account, which is advertising driven and allows members to store up to 25 CDs, or a premium account for an annual fee of $49.95, which allows users to register up to 500 CDs.

Consumers are also able to download additional music free of charge from the catalogue of 750,000 songs and audio files which some artists had previously posted at MP3.com.

Users that had signed up with MP3.com before the service was suspended while the company sorted out its legal problems, are able to keep the tracks they already have in their accounts. These songs will not be counted towards users' new account limits, said the company.

MP3.com came under attack from the big five US recording companies which accused it of infringing on their copyright. The My.MP3.com service allows users to store CDs online in a 'locker' as long as they can prove that they already own the CDs.

The company settled out of court early on with four of the five companies - Sony, BMG, EMI and Warner - and was later ordered by a judge to pay $53.4m to Universal Music Group.