Yahoo Settles Internet Radio Service Lawsuit

Yahoo Inc., owner of the most-used group of Internet sites, said it settled a lawsuit with EMI, the music company for the Rolling Stones, over an Internet radio service.

Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., said it would pay a one-time fee to EMI for prior use of the company’s recordings on its Launchcast service and entered into a license agreement to stream EMI-controlled music onto Yahoo’s service. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Record companies, who say they must protect their $40-billion-a-year industry, want Internet companies to pay royalties for playing their music online. They filed suit against Santa Monica-based Launch Media Inc., which Yahoo bought for $12 million in 2001. Settlements have been reached with Sony Music Entertainment Inc. and Vivendi Universal’s Universal Music Group, the world’s biggest record company.

London-based EMI, the world’s third-biggest record company, represents such artists as Sting, Robbie Williams and Janet Jackson.

Yahoo shares rose $1.51 to $37.91 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. They have more than doubled this year.