MP3.com back online with a two-tiered service for music fans

MP3.com Tuesday relaunched its controversial music-streaming service, My.MP3.com, in two forms -- one paid, the other free -- as the company appears to be emerging from its legal entanglements.

Consumers can choose from two pricing models to access the service. A subscription account, available for a $49.95 (£34.63) annual fee, permits storage of up to 500 CDs, while a free, advertising-based account allows people to store up to 25 CDs, the company said in a statement.

The service, which allows people to store music online and later access it via any computer, had been shut down in May after a US court held that a database of 80,000 songs copied by MP3.com -- a central part of the service -- violated copyright law. MP3.com was later ordered to pay damages.

The San Diego-based company has made progress in its legal battles with the major music labels, and last month reached an agreement with Seagram's Universal Music Group. MP3.com won a licensing deal after agreeing to pay Universal $53.4m in damages for copyright infringement.

Also last month, MP3.com reached a licensing deal with rock star David Bowie.

Some lawsuits continue with both record labels and artists.

The company points out that only songs and CDs that are contained in MP3.com's licensing content catalog will be available for use by registered My.MP3.com account users.

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