June 20, 2005
Volume 9, Issue 6
DCIA Now Fifty Members Strong
At the well-attended and highly stimulating Washington Digital Media Conference (WDMC) on Friday, the Distributed Computing Industry Association announced that fifty (50) Members have joined the trade organization since its inception, and it expects to surpass that number by its second anniversary on July 1, 2005.
The DCIA is focused on supporting commercial development of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, and proudly salutes all of its Member companies who are endeavoring to fulfill the enormous potential of distributed computing technologies.
The non-profit trade association conducts working groups and special projects, such as the Consumer Disclosures Working Group (CDWG), P2P PATROL, and the P2P Revenue Engine (P2PRE). It also publishes DCINFO.
Much of the credit for its growth goes to Member Services leader Karen Kaplowitz. For information about joining the DCIA, please contact Karen at 888-890-4240 or karen@dcia.info.
Other DCIA resources include its leaders for Best Practices: Elaine Reiss, who spoke on the closing panel at the WDMC; Business Administration: Sari Lafferty; Communications: Kelly Larabee; Consumer Research: Rich Feldman; Government Relations: Doug Campbell; and Technology: Adam Marcus. BigChampagne serves as the DCIA's official industry data resource.
The DCIA Content Group is comprised of companies like the Jun Group that develops original content for P2P distribution; Sovereign Artists, a music label which has pioneered licensed file sharing as part of its marketing mix; Altnet that has agreements with nearly 100 such top independent labels for P2P distribution of their works; and Trymedia Systems, which distributes computer games from all 12 top major games publishers and 10 top casual games publishers.
Its Operations Group has P2P software developers and distributors like Sharman Networks that distributes Kazaa Media Desktop, the most downloaded software application in history; Grokster, one of the respondents in the MGM v. Grokster US Supreme Court case; RazorPop, which distributes TrustyFiles; INTENT MediaWorks that distributes myPeer; and Seamless P2P, which provides P2P software solutions for government agencies, educational institutions, and Fortune 500 companies.
The DCIA Platform Group is made up of service-and-support companies, including digital rights management (DRM), payment solutions, business models, and strategic advisory companies like Digital Containers, which has two P2P DRM patents; Javien that provides payment solutions for the new iMesh; Shared Media Licensing, which provides the Weed technology supporting a unique file-sharing business model; and Alston & Bird that advises the Bertelsmann Group.
DCIA Member featured speakers at WDMC included Joey P of A Matter of Substance, Les Ottolenghi of INTENT MediaWorks, Tom Meredith of P2P Cash, Rich Roberts of PlayFirst, Marc Freedman of RazorPop, Russ Reeder of RightsLine, and Phil Corwin, US lobbyist for Sharman Networks. Next week's DCINFO will feature coverage of WDMC and the DCIA Summer 2005 Meeting.
Highlights of industry participation by all 50 Members are summarized in this week's report from the CEO (below). The full DCIA Membership list can also be found with links to respective company sites on the "Join" page of the DCIA website.
Report from CEO Marty Lafferty
 The DCIA's vision is that civilization is experiencing a profoundly significant digital conversion.
Traditionally, voice communication was transmitted through telco lines; video content was transmitted by means of over-the-air broadcast, coaxial cable, or satellite; and data was transmitted by dial-up modem or broadband service.
Moving forward, all electronic content and communication will be translated into fungible bits that will be delivered through a choice of pipelines, whether fiber-optic plants owned by telco, cable, or power companies, and/or increasingly some combination of satellite and cellular wireless.
Reception will be possible on any networked-device platform, with consumers free to decide they would like to do such iconoclastic activities as watch TV programs on their cell-phone screens or have long-distance conversations sitting in-front of their six-foot diagonal home-theater LCD screens using surround-sound speakers. And videogames will be even more prevalent and experientially diverse, boasting far richer production values than today.
The source for content and vehicle for communications will be enhanced P2P, as exemplified by the most recent version of Kazaa that added DCIA Member Skype's Internet telephony offering, and swarming technologies such as ByteTornado, developed by DCIA Member Cybersky-TV, that break large files into thousands of tiny pieces for more efficient transmission.
The impact on entertainment is that viewers and listeners will have instant access to all prerecorded content ever produced that has been digitized and placed in a shared-folder, as well as the ability to be switched instantly to any live event, such as a newscast, sporting event, or musical concert, anywhere in the world.
We are very proud of the progress being made by our Member companies in an environment that unfortunately is still being made unnecessarily challenging by negative misinformation campaigns mounted by our industry's opponents.
Here are highlights of some of the current work of DCIA Members in the area of commercial uses of P2P file-sharing technologies – focusing primarily on licensed distribution of copyrighted works. Each of these companies deserves to be commended for its accomplishments.
33rd Street Records – Based on analysis of music sales promotion, reallocated marketing budget from conventional broadcast radio to P2P distribution channel to drive 33rd Street artists' sales through parent company Tower Records' stores and online site, now also exploring download sales in P2P channel.
A Matter of Substance – Building on synergy of its main fields of operation in music, film, and TV, has become dynamic entertainment entity by implementing new ways of developing, producing, and distributing cutting-edge independent-voice content, including online by exploiting P2P file-sharing technologies.
Alston & Bird – Designed process and agreement structures for P2P content licensing and P2P technology patent integration for secure-content distribution in file-sharing environment, now offers consultative services to new entrants and performs related advisory role with international client Bertelsmann.
Altnet– Deployed system for licensed content distribution via P2P featuring patented TopSearch priority placement of secure files at head of search results for previews-and-a-la-carte-sales using its micro-payment commerce engine, and most recently introduced advertising-supported P2P model for top independent-label music.
Bennett Lincoff – Authored ASCAP Internet license agreement and drafted comprehensive proposal for unified digital transmission right and statutory license for P2P, now offers legal services related to intellectual property in P2P including business models, rights counseling, licensing, and regulatory matters.
BlueMaze Entertainment – Created virtual multimedia VCD/DVD for marketing content with related value-adding and ancillary revenue-generating elements for secure distribution and multiple monetization streams in P2P environment, now introducing product to leading consumer brands and independent/emerging artists.
City Canyons Records – Assembled critically acclaimed talent roster including Anemo's "Slow Burn," Jen Elliott and Bluestruck's "The Secret's Out" and "That Damn Song," David Steele's "Underneath the Ice," Peter Ulrich's "Enter the Mysterium," and Valerian's "Intimations of Sorrow," now developing P2P marketing plan.
Claria Corporation – Led responsible development of adware model for users to license P2P software in exchange for accepting ads, launched BehaviorLink and PersonalWeb marrying consumer behavior with delivery of contextual ads and content yielding click-through/conversion rates 40X higher than traditional banners.
Clickshare Service – Married secure payment mechanism for online media with affinity marketing, most recently partnering with Digital Containers on payment processing solution to automatically handle settlement of accounts and movement of payments for owners of digital content being redistributed via P2P.
Cybersky-TV – Developed ByteTornado technology for multipoint transfer optimized for large data files and Cybertelly software for very efficient P2P delivery of TV programs over broadband, supporting digital rights management (DRM) and non-anonymous content sources for use by television content distributors.
Digital Containers – Developed P2P DRM solutions around its two patents for "super distribution" to package and monetize digital media content, now conducting market trials with corporate content, e-books, radio shows, and classic comics packaged as digital collectors' items wrapped in virtual traveling stores.
Digital River – Built online businesses for more than 40,000 software publishers, manufacturers, distributors, and online retailers with multi-channel e-commerce solution, supporting direct and indirect sales, designed to help companies of all sizes maximize online revenues as well as reduce costs and risks.
Digital Static – Created award-winning "2084," world's first multimedia musical artist who writes and produces original songs and commercials, and acts as lead vocalist and new age producer, now seeking strategic partners to offer revolutionary new music and multimedia products for P2 distribution channel.
EZTV – Leveraged award-winning team of producers, artists, and educators, supporting experimentation with new computer technologies in independent arena, to create innovative new work for P2P distribution, advancing ever-evolving relationship of artists, media, technology, and audiences.
Go-Kart Records – Released several punk albums online, published "Go-Kart MP300 Raceway" ($10 MP3 CD with 150 bands and 300 songs), and charted P2P marketing plan, most recently launched Go-Kart Films for underground filmmakers with "Horns and Halos," and joined The Orchard's global distribution network.
Good Witch Records – Produced progressive albums such as "Feed Your Soul," concerts such as "Save the Rainforest," and several music videos in partnership with In The LITE Productions, featuring founder and versatile performing artist Glenda Benevides, now developing GWR content P2P marketing plan.
Grokster – Developed and distributes advanced P2P file-sharing software that leverages Altnet's paid search utility giving preferential placement results to keyword requests for delivery of authorized music, software, videos, and games, incorporating payment gateway that allow micro-payments via one-click process.
Indie911 – Pioneered streaming-audio system that pays royalties to independent artists for online airplay and comprehensive online music licensing and distribution system called Agro Free Licensing Program (AFLP), most recently partnered with INTENT MediaWorks to distribute SXSW content via P2P.
INTENT MediaWorks – Attracted advertisers and developed turnkey solution for marketing independent artists' content (free and for sale) through affiliation agreements with leading open P2P software distributors, which it now offers along with distribution through its closed P2P application myPeer.
Javien – Citing strong demand from new customers in music and P2P, such as MusicNet and iMesh, announced micro-payment aggregation engine with web services module that now allows digital content merchants to choose how they want to bundle small charges before processing them onto credit cards.
Jeftel – Launched Secure E-Mail, a P2P software product providing new format for safe, secure communications from within familiar interface of regular e-mail client programs, utilizing random nature of UDP packet flow and PKI authentication process to enhance security and versatility over TCP/IP transport.
Jillian Ann – Built and managed multiple careers as independent film actress, internationally in-demand model, and recording artist with her critically acclaimed debut release "Neverland," now pioneering use of P2P technology as sales and promotional tool, was cover story of MIT Technology Review P2P issue.
Jun Group – Made news brokering deal that promoted Steve Winwood's music in P2P marketplace sponsored by Hearst-Argyle's "Access Hollywood," now leading originator of free licensed content in global file-sharing community, including world's first sponsor-supported made-for-P2P program series, "The Scene."
KlikVU – Developed DRM to encrypt video files in digital container containing rules, such as how many views and price (which can be set to $0.00 for sponsored content), with each P2P attempt-to-view popping-up splash-page and trailer then DRM license check-out form, now also partnering with NetMusic Entertainment.
Kufala Recordings – Partnered with Shared Media Licensing and LimeWire to market authorized live recordings of famed artists in jam band circuit including Soul Coughing, The Slip, and New Riders of The Purple Sage using LimeWire P2P software and Weedshare's unique DRM technology.
MasurLaw – Pioneered wide variety of new revenue models and licensing schemes which are widely utilized in entertainment, technology, and digital media, including groundbreaking work in P2P technologies; frequently called upon to advise analysts and venture groups regarding opportunities in technology, media, and entertainment sectors.
MusicDish Network – Established independent web music network, representing unique platform of over 200 entertainment-related sites, producing and distributing original content focusing on today's emerging artists, most recently pioneered new artist-branded customized P2P offering with RazorPop and artist Yohany.
NuCore Vision – Developed record of delivering business results to federal and commercial clients as SBA certified 8(a), HubZone, MBE IT firm with extensive expertise in secure network design and comprehensive systems integration including P2P, with one-stop turnkey offerings packaged to provide reliable, innovative, and valuable IT solutions into business operations.
One Love Channel – Distributes licensed and DRM-protected reggae music and videos, such as catalogs from Buffalo Music Productions, Ras Records, and Sonic Sounds, via P2P, retaining global rights for music it distributes with initial aim to become largest source of reggae and dancehall music on Internet.
P2P Cash – Leveraged proprietary business rules with public standards for financial information interchange to create patent-pending Intelligent Cash Unit (ICU) token-based standard for P2P direct payment systems to securely transfer cash from one individual to another without involving financial institutions in transactions.
PlayFirst – Dedicated to new model of online game publishing to bring best playing experience to all online consumer entertainment platforms starting with Internet downloads; focused on creating popular games that appeal to mass market through multiple consumer platforms including via P2P file sharing.
Predixis – Perfected acoustical solution for entertainment media file identification and management in P2P environments, MusicMagic patented technology manages digital libraries based on inherent sounds, providing power to create playlists not only by artist, album, genre, but also by key musical attributes.
Project V-G – Provided an application framework for P2P commerce adding "bartering" and "goodwill" functions in addition to monetary based online transactions with three components: network, P2P commerce engine, and graphic user interface, using new inverted model-view-controller (IMVC) computing model.
Rap Station – Launched by Chuck D as multi-format "supersite" for vast global hip-hop community, Public Enemy became first multi-platinum selling act to release album via Web before retail stores, now partnering with Real Networks, House of Blues Digital, New World Culture, All Earth, and, for P2P, Altnet.
RazorPop – Developed and distributes interoperable P2P application TrustyFiles, branded private-label P2P software for content rights holders, and TFLE "X-Files" forensics app for law enforcement, most recently proposed P2P music subscription service at $9.95/month featuring copyright infringement insurance.
Relatable – Adapted acoustical fingerprinting as digital barcode for original Napster to use in P2P Revenue Engine (P2PRE) working with nine other companies as solution for major entertainment rights aggregators to address consumer-entered content by using its TRM to identify and match files with rights-holder registry.
RightsLine – Created application software that merges business rights management with online sales and licensing, providing solutions to businesses active in management of intellectual property (IP) assets, automating licensing of IP libraries in all territories for all rights 24/7 using web-based software.
Scooter Scudieri – Operates as first full-service musician of 21st century, producing, composing, performing, and distributing music without agent, manager, or record company, has built largest independent following of any artist over Internet, believes P2P has opened door for reform, positive change, and growth.
Seamless P2P - Developed PeerSystem and Phenom technologies to facilitate institutional deployment of seamless, secure P2P platforms, reducing the need for centralized computing (e.g., data centers) by focusing on decentralized and distributed computing, storage, and collaboration.
Shared Media Licensing – Extended Windows Media DRM for P2P with Weed technology that enables licensed content sampling-and-sales, rewarding P2P users with sales commissions for redistributing files, most recently in deals with Digital Musicworks Intl & Paste Magazine, Kufala Recordings and LimeWire P2P.
Sharman Networks – Developed and distributes Kazaa Media Desktop, Web's most downloaded software, and was charter Altnet affiliate for licensed content distribution, most recently packaged TypePad weblog and Skype VoIP with new KMD release, allowing users to make free Internet calls anywhere via P2P.
Skype – Developed P2P Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) for high-quality free Internet calling, most recently launching prepaid premium services SkypeOut (call telephone numbers at local rates), SkypeIn (receive calls to personal number) and Skype Voicemail, Skype has been downloaded 100+ million times.
SMARTguard Software – Advanced protection software, Blockster, designed to help parents prevent children from accessing computer programs without appropriate supervision, monitors their use, provides reports and alerts, extending family filters integrated into leading P2P software programs as standalone offering.
Softwrap– Provides turnkey software sales and distribution solutions for software developers, authors, and publishers with e-commerce and electronic software distribution (ESD) technologies that enable partners to securely distribute and sell their software over web via P2P with virtual equivalent of "shrink-wrap."
Sovereign Artists – Conducted online sales promotion for Heart's "Jupiters Darling" with Altnet demonstrating that P2P could outsell iTunes, marketed "Petra Haden & Bill Frisell" album via P2P premiering INTENT's Palladium platform, most recently launched "Here Come The Choppers!" by Loudon Wainwright.
SVC Financial – Integrated financial services with value-added software to help clients accelerate sales using its Mazarin Media Platform (MMP), which provides rapid application delivery for any size organization, and most recently SVC payment services providing cost-effective P2P solution for cash-based consumers.
Telcordia – Helps communications companies transform, manage, and grow networks by providing open, flexible, configurable software and services for IP, wireline, mobility and cable, aggressively reducing costs by consolidating complex operations while adding service offerings to generate profitable new revenue, now exploring opportunities for enabling P2P digital content services.
Trymedia Systems – Licensed all major games publishers and leading casual games publishers for secure P2P distribution of their titles using its proven download-play-and-buy marketing system and proprietary ActiveMark DRM technology that provides security consistently across formats and distribution platforms.
V2 Records – Joined with Koch Media, Artemis, Epitaph / Anti, Side One Dummy, Palm, Simmons/Latham and Digital Rights Agency to share P2P ad revenue through Altnet program, and starting with release of Stereophonics fifth album, selling tracks on P2P at $0.99 each or entire album for $9.99, with free music video promoted to P2P users.
Vmedia Research – Created miniature optical media and drives compatible with key content compression codecs to support entertainment distribution to small mobile CE media devices, including pocket-sized VMedia wireless player that delivers video entertainment to users with WiFi enabled mobile devices.
The DCIA believes P2P has the potential to serve not only as a more robust distribution channel than its predecessors for a greater diversity of content offered in a larger variety of ways, but also as an advanced communications medium and collaboration platform.
The Power of Us
The 35 employees at Meiosys, a software firm in Palo Alto, CA, didn't know they were joining a gang of telecom-industry marauders. They just wanted to save a few bucks. Last year they began using Skype, a program that lets them make free calls over the Internet, with better sound quality than regular phones, using headsets connected to their PCs.
Callers simply click on a name in their Skype contact lists, and if the person is there, they connect and talk just like on a regular phone call. "Better quality at no cost," exults Meiosys Chief Executive Jason Donahue. Poof! Almost 90% of his firm's $2,000 monthly long-distance phone bill has vanished. With 41 million people now using Skype, plus 150,000 more each day, it's no wonder AT&T and MCI are hanging it up.
How can a tiny European upstart like DCIA Member Skype do a number on a trillion-dollar industry? By dialing up a vast, hidden resource: its own users.
Skype, the newest creation from the same folks whose popular file-sharing software Kazaa freaked out record execs, also lets people share their resources. When users fire up Skype, they automatically allow their spare computing power and Net connections to be borrowed by the Skype network, which uses that collective resource to route others' calls. The result: a self-sustaining phone system that requires no central capital investment – just the willingness of its users to share. Says Skype CEO Niklas Zennström: "It's almost like an organism."
A big, hairy, monstrous organism, that is. The nearly 1 billion people online worldwide – along with their shared knowledge, social contacts, online reputations, computing power, and more – are rapidly becoming a collective force of unprecedented power. For the first time in human history, mass cooperation across time and space is suddenly economical.
"There's a fundamental shift in power happening," says Pierre M. Omidyar, founder and chairman of the online marketplace eBay. "Everywhere, people are getting together and, using the Internet, disrupting whatever activities they're involved in.
OECD Reports on P2P
Excerpted from CNET News Report by Andy McCue
The Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said Monday that other factors – such as the rise in the number of entertainment sources – are more likely to have had a significant impact on music sales.
"It is very difficult to establish a basis to prove a causal relationship between the size of the drop in music sales and the rise of file sharing.
Sales of CDs, as well as the success of licensed online music services are likely to have been affected to some degree by a variety of other factors, for example physical piracy and CD burning, competition from other, newer entertainment products and faltering consumer spending in some markets," the report said.
Hollywood Vs. Digital Generation
Friday's guest on Inside Digital Media was J.D. Lasica, author of Darknet: Hollywood's War against the Digital Generation. Click here to listen to the interview.
Coming Events of Interest
-
Media Center Networking Dinner – This special event will be held Thursday June 23rd from 8 to 10 PM at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at 1800 Presidents Street, Reston, VA 20190 with "interesting folks" from the media, technology and policy sectors. Please RSVP to Beth Laing at blaing@mediacenter.org.
-
DRM Strategies Conference – Jupitermedia's comprehensive event on digital rights management business and technology issues will be held July 27th-28th at the Puck Building in NYC. This is a must-attend for those involved in content security in both consumer media distribution and information security. The conference will feature leading industry figures who will introduce the fundamentals of DRM, shed light on future DRM directions, and provide incendiary debate on today's controversial issues of online piracy and digital copyright.
-
Kagan's Digital Media Summit – The theme of this year's conference, which will be held on September 12th-13th at the Four Seasons / Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV will be "New Opportunities For Monetizing Content." The DCIA will participate in the panel entitled "MIXING MEDIA'S POTION: Content Security Plus E-Commerce Fulfillment and On-Demand Delivery."
-
Digital Hollywood Fall – "Transforming the Entertainment Industry." Scheduled for September 19th-21st at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. The preeminent digital media and entertainment conference in the country. This year featuring a series of special University Project workshops. The DCIA will moderate a P2P panel.
-
Technology Law Institute – A Digital Media Rights panel will be featured September 20th at the Headquarters of the State Bar of Georgia, in downtown Atlanta, GA. Kilpatrick & Stockton's James Trigg will moderate with speakers Miles O'Brien from CNN, Kevin Lapidus from YellowBrixx, and Marty Lafferty from the DCIA.
|
