San Diego - A federal judge has dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by major label EMI against Michael Robertson, founder of MP3.com and current head of digital music locker firm MP3tunes, but allowed the label's lawsuit against MP3tunes to proceed to trial. "Suing CEOs personally is a nasty tactic media companies are engaging in to intimidate individuals, forcing them to either enter into a settlement or face the possibility of losing their homes, cars, and all their personal belongings," said Robertson.

San Diego - Michael Robertson, head of music storage locker service MP3tunes -- which is currently the target of a copyright suit from EMI -- said yesterday that a recent court ruling in favor of a similar video service from Cablevision "sets a sturdy legal precedence which MP3tunes can use to battle for the legality of our online music storage service." "The parallels to Cablevision are striking with the primary difference being they're video and we're music. Both are services storing your personal content and playing it back for you," Robertson wrote in a post on his blog. Robertson adds that the pending suit against his company is being heard by the same federal court that delivered the Cablevision ruling.

Los Angeles - Lala.com, an online music firm that operates an online CD-trading service, and has also offered free, unlimited song streaming, has now begun testing a new model that will see users pay 10 cents per song for unlimited streaming, according to a post on MP3.com founder Michael Robertson's blog. The songs must be listened to via the company's site, and may not be downloaded or stored on portable players

San Diego - MP3tunes, the online music locker service started by MP3.com founder Michael Robertson, on Thursday launched a new feature that lets users automatically move their digital music between their own computers. The AutoSync feature, now included with every MP3tunes Music Locker, will for instance let consumers buy MP3s from Amazon.com while at work, and have the new music available for listening on family computers when they get home. Major label EMI is currently suing MP3tunes, arguing it makes unauthorized copies of songs.

New York - Several labels and publishing units of major record label EMI on Friday filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Michael Robertson, the original founder of MP3.com and current head of music sites MP3tunes.com and Sideload.com, Reuters reported.

San Diego - AnywhereCD, an online retailer started by MP3.com founder Michael Robertson that bundles MP3 albums along with physical CDs, will shut down at the end of the month, Robertson said in a post on his blog.

New York - AnywhereCD, the digital music store start-up launched earlier this month by MP3.com founder Michael Robertson, and Warner Music Group have filed legal claims against one another in a dispute over whether the store has the right to sell Warner albums in the unprotected MP3 format, Reuters reported.

San Diego - Michael Robertson, the founder of the original MP3.com, on Thursday announced the launch of a new digital music venture, AnywhereCD, which will sell albums as 192K MP3 downloads and include a CD copy for an additional fee. At launch, the service is offering albums from artists including Madonna, Prince, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Shins and Metallica -- a band that has been reluctant to release its songs digitally. Album prices at AnywhereCD start at $9.95; Metallica's "Ride the Lightning" is selling for $11.95 as an MP3 album, and $14.95 for an MP3 album with CD copy.

San Diego - MP3tunes, the digital music firm started by MP3.com founder Michael Robertson, announced on Monday the launch of unlimited, free online music storage with its Oboe service. The Oboe music locker allows users to upload and stream their digital music collections from any Internet-connected computer, as well as some digital video recorders and mobile phones. San Diego-based MP3tunes also offers a premium version of Oboe for $39.95 per year, which includes support for a greater number of devices, unrestricted album cover art, and music files larger than 10MB.