Fanning / Snocap saga
p2pnet.net News:- Shawn Fanning will probably succeed with his Snocap where Napster is failing – the wan and pale Roxio Napster II, that is. Not Fanning’s original p2p file sharing application which literally shook Big Music to its rotting foundations.
A while back, no lesser personage than Music Entertainment heavy Andy Lack alluded to Fanning’s “ground-breaking work” in the area of developing systems able to identify and filter copyrighted material in clear reference to Fanning’s Snocap, which involves naming music files on p2p networks and then attaching a price tag to them.
In other words, Snocap would allow Fanning to treat with Devil in the shape of Big Music who did its damndest to wipe him off the face of the earth. But, nothing personal. Just bidnes.
Snocap was rumoured to have been integral to the deal where the Big Four record label cartel used its RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) to scarf up iMesh for $4.1 million. Notwithstanding, “iMesh has no agreement with third party technical vendors,” an iMesh spokeswoman told p2pnet at the time.
However, there’s no doubt Snocap is a part of the coming Mashboxx enterprise involving Grokster, former Grokster and Blubster ceo Wayne Rosso, and Sony-BMG / Lack.
p2pnet will be able to give you chapter and verse on this in the near future.
In the meanwhile, while the mainstream media drive themselves crazy speculating about what Snocap might or might not do, and who it might or might not do it with, Fanning is judiciously allowing bits and pieces to be unofficially released here and there, in the process keeping the flames of anticipation burning brightly.
CNET has a long item on Fanning and Snocap in which it says:
“Snocap itself will offer a range of different services to record companies and other customers, including the creation of a ‘warehouse‘ of authorized music that can help ’seed’ peer-to-peer networks with content.
“Record executives say they are also interested in a feature that will track peer-to-peer requests for songs that aren’t yet licensed for digital distribution. That will help them go into their archives and find songs that are out of print that people may want online, one executive said.
“The identification and transaction system won’t be limited to traditional peer-to-peer networks, sources said. Ordinary Web retailers could use the technology to sell a song online, and let their own customers forward the song to other people. If those people downstream wanted to keep the song, they would also pay for it, with the funds forwarded to the original retailer by Snocap.
“Sources said Snocap itself is not a filter, although some in the record industry see it as proof that existing file-trading networks can have copyright-friendly filters applied to them, blocking unauthorized transmissions. Services that use Snocap’s technology will not be allowed to have pirated material swapped alongside the authorized versions of songs.”
Stay tuned.
===================
See:-
Snocap – Sony boss lauds Napster’s Fanning, p2pnet, February 16, 2004
scarf up iMesh – iMesh, RIAA deal, p2pnet, July 11, 2004
Mashboxx – Sony-BMG, Grokster deal, p2pnet, October 29, 2004
warehouse – Music rebels seek to tame P2P, CNETÂ News, November 17, 2004
November 18th, 2004 at 8:25 am
“Record executives say they are also interested in a feature that will track peer-to-peer requests for songs that aren’t yet licensed for digital distribution. That will help them go into their archives and find songs that are out of print that people may want online, one executive said.”
ie *all of it*. The music biz should digitize their back catalogue and deleted catalogue as fast as possible. This is music where they are using copyright to prevent distribution not enable it. And since they are currently making nothing from this music, it’s absurd to charge the same $0.99 as for first run music that is being heavily promoted.
Why is it the same 1M tracks on all the for profit download services? And why isn’t it now 2M? And in 6 months time it should be 3M.