Project Playlist, EMI Music Join Forces

— -- Project Playlist, a social network that lets you create and share playlists, has made a friend out of its former foe, EMI Music. Starting today, EMI Music has licensed its catalog to the social network, which boasts over 42 million registered users. EMI is the second music label to strike a deal with Project Playlist; Sony/BMG signed on in December.

EMI's decision to join forces with Project Playlist is especially notable, though, when you consider that the company filed a lawsuit against the site last year with fellow heavyweights Warner Music and Universal Music Group.

Despite the loss of EMI, Warner and Universal intend to pursue their court case against Project Playlist. The Recording Industry Association of America is also suing the site on behalf of nine music labels. For its part, Project Playlist says it respects copyright and says it pays royalties to songwriters and artists.

While the music business needs to be won over, Project Playlist has gained popularity for its wide range of music choices and an excellent streaming tool. For the moment, Project Playlist is also one of the few music-based social networks that doesn't restrict streaming based on your location. For a quick test, I polled users in the U.K., Israel and the United States and everyone was able to access their favorite music.

In addition, to streaming music you can also embed the Project Playlist player in a blog or Web site and some social networks. Facebook and MySpace, however, do not allow the Project Playlist widgets on their sites because of the company's legal troubles.

Billed as a music discovery service, Project Playlist is just one of many music-based social networks trying to figure out a way to bring the music business into the 21^st century. Other competitors include LaLa, Imeem, Last.fm, and European favorite Spotify.