Music publisher EMI has signed a deal with legal P2P music service Mashboxx to distribute its back catalogue of tracks.

EMI – which publishes artists such as Kate Bush and David Bowie – has agreed to makes its entire catalogue of digital recordings available on the P2P service.

The Mashboxx piggybacks existing P2P networks, identifying items that are licensed for sale. Consumers can preview the tracks for free or purchase full downloads.

To enable the music to be identified, all EMI tracks are being fingerprinted by Napster founder Shawn Fanning's company Snocap.

Full length sample tracks will be available on the service. These trial recordings can be played up to five times before they expire. After five plays, only 30 second clips will be available to listen to.

Purchased tracks can be burned to CD seven times, played on up to five PCs and transferred to compatible Windows Media portable players an unlimited number of times.

David Munns, chairman and CEO of EMI Music North America and vice chairman of EMI Music Worldwide, said that legal P2P services were "good for music fans, good for artists, and good for the digital music market as a whole".

"When it rolls out, Mashboxx will be a no-obligation way for fans to really immerse themselves in discovering music, turning their friends on to what they like, and getting excited about artists and music they've not yet heard," Munns said.

"It has the potential to be a very good revenue stream for those who make their living from creating and investing in music."

The Mashboxx service will begin beta testing in the US soon.