FullAudio cues up remaining big labels

MusicNow will have more than 200,000 tracks available

By JUSTIN OPPELAAR

Digital music firm FullAudio has inked comprehensive licensing deals with Sony Music, BMG and Universal Music, giving the Netco full access to the digitized libraries of all five major label groups for its new subscription service MusicNow.

Under the terms of the nonexclusive deals, MusicNow users will be able to stream and download tracks from the three labels' catalogs, which include such artists as Bruce Springsteen, Avril Lavigne and Eminem. They'll also be able to burn their music onto CDs and transfer it to portable players.

The Sony Music deal is an all-new contract for FullAudio; the pacts with Universal and BMG build on existing agreements by adding the burning and portability options. All told, MusicNow will have more than 200,000 tracks available when it debuts this week.

Two levels

MusicNow will offer two tiers of service: $4.95 a month buys its premium radio Webcasting service through 36 content-specific channels, while customers paying $9.95 will get the radio channels plus unlimited so-called tethered downloads and the option to buy permanent tracks for burning or transferring to devices for 99¢ each.

Company is going head to head with label-backed services MusicNet and Pressplay, as well as Listen.com's Rhapsody service and free peer-to-peer networks like Kazaa and Morpheus.

FullAudio hopes to differentiate itself by aggressively pursuing the so-called new enthusiast market -- tech-savvy customers looking for guidance in finding new music on the Net.