MP3.com Gets Controlling Stake in MP3radio.com

MP3.com (http://www.mp3.com) announced it is acquiring a majority stake in mp3radio.com ( http://www.mp3radio.com) from its joint venture partner, Cox Interactive Media (CIMedia).

MP3radio is a new company aiming to bring radio stations online. It provides localized music information and free music downloads to radio stations.

While the company was still in development, MP3.com's CEO Michael Robertson said that there was some duplication of efforts going on. "To more effectively leverage our resources, both companies felt that by bringing mp3radio's operations under MP3.com we could offer a coordinated suite of products and services to the over-the-air radio market," he says.

Affiliate stations will have access to MP3.com's services including its My.MP3.com service that allows listeners to store, manage, and listen to their music collection via the stations' web site.

mp3radio.com, which is presently based in Atlanta (near Cox), is expected to relocate to San Diego and to be integrated into the existing MP3.com operations.