Features

SAN FRANCISCO — Musicbank, a start-up promising to give consumers online access to their personal CD collections, said Monday it signed a licensing agreement with Sony Music. 

The deal means San Francisco-based Musicbank now has the rights to store CDs made by four of the five major record labels. 

BMG Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group previously signed licensing agreements with Musicbank. The company is trying to negotiate an agreement with the remaining major label, EMI. 

Before the end of the year, Musicbank plans to launch a service that will enable consumers to listen to their CDs through any Internet-connected computer. Musicbank will record the entire catalogs of the music labels and then play them online for consumers who can prove that they previously purchased the requested music. 

The new “music locker” service is similar to one launched earlier this year by San Diego-based MP3.com, which didn’t obtain licensing agreements before giving consumers online access to their CDs. The music labels sued MP3.com, which now faces settlements and penalties that could exceed $250 million. 

MusicBank’s licensing agreements are expected to require the company to pay millions of dollars in royalties to the labels.  

The privately held company hasn’t disclosed the specifics of its licensing deals. 

Rival makers of digital music lockers, such as Myplay.com, believe the licensing agreements will force MusicBank to charge subscription fees. Musicbank hasn’t provided details of its business plan.