MP3.com in Pact to Use EMI Songs

NEW YORK —  MP3.com Inc. reached an agreement with EMI Group that will allow the online music company to use songs owned by the British record label in the My.MP3 Web-based database, a source familiar with the talks said Thursday.

“An announcement is expected Friday that says MP3.com can use EMI’s music as part of the My.MP3.com service,” the source said.

MP3.com assembled a database of more than 80,000 albums, which, when combined with its software, allows users to store music digitally and then access it via any computer. The service is called My.MP3.com.

A U.S. District Court ruled that the San Diego company ran afoul of copyright law by creating the database, forcing the company to pursue settlements with the labels or risk court-imposed damages that could add up to billions of dollars.

Terms of the settlement were not immediately available, but were believed to be similar to the deals reached last month with Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Music Group and Bertelsmann’s music arm BMG. Neither MP3.com nor EMI executives would comment.