Features

Mp3.com adds its millionth song

The Associated Press
Thursday June 14, 2001

SAN DIEGO — The online music service Mp3.com added the 1 millionth song to its library this week and introduced a new premium service that allows subscribers to transfer songs to a portable device and burn compact discs from their own music collection. 

The company said the milestone track was the song “So Long,” by the band “Lapdog,” which consists of former members of the alternative rock band “Toad the Wet Sprocket.” 

Mp3.com allows musicians to post digital tracks on the site and pays some musicians when their tracks are downloaded over the Internet. 

The company also runs a music locker service, which allows people to store digital copies of music they either purchase from a participating retailer or prove they already own by briefly inserting a copy into their computer’s disc drive. 

This week, the company introduced its “Premium Listener Service,” which allows listeners to compile a library of clips from their own music collection or from MP3.com’s collection of songs. The software allows subscribers to play their music on their computer or transfer tracks to a portable MP3 player.  

The software also allows subscribers to burn music to a CD. 

 

The PLuS Express package costs $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year. The software can be downloaded for a 14-day trial. 

MP3.com recently agreed to be acquired by Vivendi Universal in a $372 million cash-and-stock deal. Vivendi hopes to use MP3.com’s technology as the backbone of a new music licensing service, called pressplay, it recently formed with its partner, Sony Music. 

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On the Net: 

http://www.mp3.com 

http://www.pressplay.com