Audio Video News

A funny thing happened when the founders of the file sharing service Kazaa confronted music industry executives in court: They became allies. Now the guys who once facilitated illicit downloading are launching a legitimate music service called Rdio.

Rdio's Janus Friis told The New York Times: "You gain a certain respect for each other, through a good fight, so to speak." An executive from the Warner Music Group reciprocated: "We resolved the past. These guys are focused on the future."

Rdio will cost $5 per month for web browser access to a catalog of five million songs, including at least some content from all four of the major music labels (EMI, Sony, Universal, Warner). For $10 you can also use smartphones including iPhone, BlackBerry, and the Android OS. Presumably that would offer superior ease of use compared to simply using a phone's browser. The service had a limited launch this week and will become more widely available later this year.

If you're interested, enter your email address into the Rdio website and you'll be notified when you can sign up.