February 2, 2009
Volume XXV, Issue 3
Is Music's Future on the Isle of Man?
Excerpted from International Herald Tribune Report by Eric Pfanner
A generation ago, the Isle of Man gave the world the Bee Gees. Now it says it wants to help the wounded music industry stay alive.
The Island, in the Irish Sea, is promoting an offbeat remedy for digital infringement, which the record companies blame for billions of dollars in lost sales. Instead of fighting file-sharing, the government wants to embrace it - and it is trying to enlist a skeptical music industry in support.
Under a proposal announced this month, the 80,000 people who live on the Isle of Man would be able to download unlimited amounts of music from peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing services. To make this possible, broadband subscribers would have to pay a nominal monthly fee to their Internet service providers (ISPs).
Ron Berry, Director of Inward Investment for the Isle of Man, said the music industry needed radical approaches because of the "utter failure" of its current strategies.
Global music sales have fallen nearly 55% since 2000. And despite a nearly decade-long anti-piracy campaign, the industry's international trade group estimates that 95% of tracks distributed over the Internet are unlicensed, generating no revenue at all for the record companies.
"A lot of people in the business are concerned with how much money they are losing, but not with how much money they could make," Berry said.
Under his proposal, the money collected by ISPs would be sent to an agency that would distribute the proceeds to copyright owners, including record labels and music publishers. They would receive payments based on how often their music was downloaded or streamed over the Internet, as they now do in many countries when it is performed live or on the radio.
There are precedents for such systems in Europe, where many countries have mandatory license fees for television owners to finance public broadcasting. Several European countries also have taxes on blank CDs as well as audiovisual and computer equipment; the money typically goes to support cultural industries.
While the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which represents the major labels in the United States, has backed away from a nearly six-year campaign of litigation against individual file sharers, the music companies' continuing effort to battle infringement in other ways dismays some analysts.
"They spend 90% of their time trying to keep me from doing what I want to do and 10% of their time trying to make it possible," said Gerd Leonhard, author of "The Future of Music."
Actually, the major music companies - Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI - have grown considerably more flexible in recent months, making their music available in all sorts of ways that they might once have considered beyond the pale.
New services offering "free" music, bundled into the cost of a broadband subscription or financed by advertising, are proliferating.
Warner Music has been studying a proposal for US university campuses, where students are prolific users of file-sharing services, that resembles the Isle of Man's idea. ISPs would levy a fee on broadband connections in dormitories and libraries, in exchange for allowing students to download music to their hearts' content.
"On the drawing board, these are very virtuous models, but it's all about getting the right implementation," said Michael Nash, EVP for Digital Strategy & Business Development at Warner Music. "You don't want to completely displace all your existing consumers and end-up with a lower-value model."
Rather than adopting one-size-fits-all licensing terms, the record companies say their preferred approach is to work with individual partners to increase digital revenue, which accounted for about 20% of the industry's sales last year, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).
"Record labels are proactively licensing a new generation of services that allow consumers access to unprecedented amounts of music and offer great value for money," said John Kennedy, chief executive of the trade body.
But executives of some new music businesses complain that negotiations to license music can be tough and tortuous; in the meantime, the start-ups' venture capital can run dry.
Under proposals like those discussed by the Isle of Man, such negotiations could become a thing of the past, because only the ISP would need a license. Technology that can track downloads and streams across the Internet, including P2P services, already exists.
The Island, perhaps best known as a "tax-efficient jurisdiction" has taken an interest in digital music and other high-technology businesses as it seeks to diversify the economy beyond financial services.
In 2001, it was the first place in the world to start third-generation, or 3G, cell-phone services. Broadband is available in every home, and more than 70% of households are connected.
Berry, who is also a DJ and part owner of a radio station on the Island, said he had begun talks with music companies to try to muster support for his plan.
"Our size, demographics, and history of innovation means that the Island could be an ideal test bed to trial this concept," he said.
DCIA Initiates New Working Group with Isle of Man
The DCIA is working with the Isle of Man to develop innovative approaches for online music distribution, which for example, can offer Internet users "three or more ways to win" instead of "three strikes to be put out" for non-commercial access of music online.
Choices are likely to include 1) fully licensed ad-supported music-sharing services, which will continue to be accessible at no cost; 2) not yet licensed music-sharing services, which will be accessible as part of a new unlimited music-sharing ISP subscription service; and 3) fully licensed paid-download music stores, which will also continue to be accessible at no cost for sampling, with individual tracks and other offerings available for sale.
The Isle of Man and the DCIA welcome input from interested parties on components to be tested on the Island, with feedback to be provided to rights holders, ISPs, and other participants in the distribution chain.
Consumers would be able to select the approach that best suits their needs and interests, and also to change their decision at will to opt into an alternative that may be more attractive to them as their habits and music-sharing options evolve.
Key to all of these approaches is that they facilitate and empower consumers to continue sharing music using the most advanced and innovative software and services available, and offer Internet and mobile subscribers flexible and actionable choices that they control.
The DCIA and the Isle of Man have initiated a new working group to develop market trials on the Isle of Man to ascertain operational feasibility and support profitability analyses of various business models and options, which include those outlined above as well as other innovative solutions.
"Instead of three strikes and you're out, this is about three or more ways you can win," said Ron Berry, e-Commerce Advisor to the Isle of Man.
The new DCIA-sponsored working group has been dubbed the P3P Working Group (P3PWG), and qualified interested parties who wish to get involved are strongly encouraged to call +1-410-476-7695 or e-mail p3pwg@dcia.info for more information.
Report from CEO Marty Lafferty
 Please plan now to attend the second annual P2P MARKET CONFERENCE on March 17th at the Cornell Club of New York, being held in conjunction with Media Summit New York (MSNY). MSNY's opening keynote on March 18th will be NBC Universal's Jeff Zucker.
This year's P2P MARKET CONFERENCE will focus on innovative business opportunities for revenue generation, market trials, financing opportunities, and case studies that demonstrate the benefits, including cost reductions, of P2P and cloud computing technologies for consumer entertainment and enterprise data deployments. MSNY is the premier international conference on all aspects of media and marketing.
To extend the reach of the P2P MARKET CONFERENCE to those unable to travel to New York, for the first time, the DCIA will be producing a live interactive webcast of the event. In addition to being available in real-time, the webcast will also be recorded and viewable on-demand after the conference.
KEYNOTE ADDRESSES will be presented by Jim Kott, Co-President, Abacast; Rick Kurnit, Partner, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz; Mitchell Edwards, CFO & General Counsel, BitTorrent; John Desmond, VP, MediaSentry Services, SafeNet; George Searle, CEO, LimeWire; Michael Einhorn, Consultant, Media/Technology/Copyright; Robert Levitan, CEO, Pando Networks; Alex Mashinsky, CEO, DigiMeld; Scott Brown, USA CEO, Octoshape; Charles Perkins, Founder, Virtual Rendezvous; and John Waclawsky, Software Architect, Motorola.
P2P MARKET STRATEGIES will explore consumer and enterprise categories and answer the key question: what are the strategic implications of P2P in key market segments?
How are the market strategies different for using P2P to distribute consumer entertainment and corporate enterprise data? What characteristics are required for P2P companies to succeed in key market segments? Should P2P software companies concurrently pursue multiple strategies? How do live P2P streaming and P2P file downloading impact major market segments? What unique market attributes can yield new opportunities for monetization?
Panelists will include Steve Mannel, Cable & Broadband Solutions Executive, IBM; Steve Masur, Managing Partner, MasurLaw; Morgan Reed, Executive Director, Association for Competitive Technology (ACT); Colin Sebastian, SVP, Equity Research, Lazard Capital Markets; and Chuck Stormon, CMO, PacketExchange.
P2P BUSINESS MODELS will examine advertising-supported, subscription, paid download, and other approaches and answer the key question: how do the various approaches compare?
Has any of these alternative business models yet proven to be the most promising in the consumer sector? Have any more innovative approaches been attempted? What are the most advanced approaches for P2P content protection? What wholesale content and enterprise business models are coming into play? How can users, both at the consumer and corporate levels, navigate among P2P service offerings?
Panelists will include Bambi Francisco, CEO, Vator.tv; Daniel Leon, Head of Strategic Partnerships, HIRO Media; Jay Andreozzi, Chief Creative Officer, Amalgam Digital; Ira Rubenstein, EVP, Global Digital Media Group, Marvel Entertainment; and Neerav Shah, VP, Business Development, Verimatrix.
P2P CASE STUDIES will evaluate experience to date and answer the key question: beyond theory, what's working and what's not in the marketplace?
What techniques have proven best so far in terms of monetizing the enormous traffic that P2P generates? What successes have been achieved in the wholesale entertainment and enterprise categories? What has been the relative worth of the different formats and interactivity that this channel supports? What case studies from related businesses can be applied to P2P and how?
Panelists will include Teemu Huuhtanen, President, North America, Sulake Corporation; Alex Limberis, COO, Syabas Technology; Rob Manoff, CEO & Co-Founder, Jambo Media; Aaron Markham, VP, Research & Development, BayTSP; and Ron Van Herk, Founder & CEO, AHT International.
P2P FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES will discuss network efficiency and content protection and answer the key question: how can participants optimize the channel?
What can the industry do to ensure that the benefits of P4P and similar mechanisms are applied to the distribution of copyrighted works? How can participants at various levels of this channel gain support of rights holders? Which identification techniques (e.g., watermarking and/or fingerprinting) should be used to protect content and enhance the ecosystem? What new solutions will impact P2P software developers and distributors to the greatest degree?
Panelists will include Simon Applebaum, Producer, Tomorrow Will be Televised; Betty Chan-Bauza, VP Strategy & Product, LifeLock; Dan Pifer, EVP, Operations & Technology, The Orchard; Laird Popkin, Co-Chair, P4P Working Group (P4PWG); and Rob Sandie, CEO, Viddler.com.
Additional P2P MARKET CONFERENCE speakers will be announced in coming weeks.
If you are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at the P2P MARKET CONFERENCE, please contact Laura Tunberg at 310-415-0330 or laura@dcia.info. For DCIA Membership and conference speaker information, please contact Karen Kaplowitz at 888-890-4240 or karen@dcia.info. Share wisely, and take care.
eJamming Audiio P2P Music Collaboration Beta 14
Excerpted from Beta News Report by Tim Conneally
At last year's CES, Intel's Paul Otellini used eJamming Audiio, BigStage, and the band Smashmouth to show off how a group of musicians located on various corners of the globe could get together and play live in a virtual environment.
BetaNews tested the eJamming Audiio software last year and found that it was suitable for recording and collaborating with others in a VoIP-enhanced environment, but playing instruments live had too many latency issues to be feasible. In using MIDI drums, a guitar, and bass in three different locations in the United States, each musician found they had to get accustomed to latency in their own signal, and then the latency of the others as well. In the end, it was nearly impossible to play live.
Today, the site has launched Beta 14, which includes a near zero-latency "Jam Mode" as the default. The team says a user's own instrument will now play-back with nearly no delay, and audio streams from other musicians will be synched together to make live collaboration easier. The site is still accepting new beta testers. Users simply download the eJamming P2P client in order to start playing.
Vuze 4.1.0 Offers Enhanced UI for Mac
Excerpted from Softpedia Report by Filip Truta
Vuze is a powerful BitTorrent client that greatly extends the original Python client's feature set. It can manage multiple downloads at once from a single window, or offer detailed real-time download statistics with export to XML, advanced download and seeding management rules, configuration and torrent creation wizards, embedded tracker for easy and automated hosting of users' files, PeerGuardian IP address filtering and web browser, and console UIs.
The multi-platform client makes transferring files via the BitTorrent protocol more stable, more usable, and faster.
A new split-window MyTorrents view with support for categories, advanced downloading / seeding / queuing rules for powerful and automated torrent management, a customizable user interface, seeding from read-only media, and significant reductions in resource usage are just some of the advantages delivered by Vuze.
Besides the powerful plug-in interface, the client also supports a total of 27 languages.
With the latest version out (4.1.0.0), Vuze also added a new FP Ignore rule - Ignore 1st Priority after X hours of idle upload speed (default 24h); support for loading torrents when the HTTP response is an error (like 404, 500) but the data is still a torrent; support for multiple content networks, and a number of UI changes, such as experimental neuronal speed algorithm, added AS/ASN peer column, added properties view to buddies avatar widget, and control+I in library to open torrent info (torrent details) page.
Additional changes include the ability to share categories with friends as subscriptions, support for table column removal, a getComputerName method, and more.
Vuze is the most popular app of its kind for Mac. Vuze requires Mac OS X 10.3 or later and is a Universal Binary, supported on PowerPC and Intel-based machines alike. Please click here to download Vuze.
CNN Uses P2P Plug-in for its Live Streaming
Excerpted from TorrentFreak Report
Last week, millions of people watched President Obama's inauguration on the Internet through one of the many sites that offered a live feed. CNN's broadcast was one of the most viewed streams - with a peak of more than a million simultaneous viewers - and also was using P2P technology.
One of the areas where P2P can really make a difference is with video streaming.
Offering a quality stream can quickly cost tens of thousands of dollars a month for medium-sized sites, and millions of dollars for large ones. So, why not share this burden by using P2P? That's probably what CNN thought as it offered a P2P-supported live feed of the inauguration. With 25 million viewers on CNN.com, this was probably the largest P2P live stream ever, although CNN did not reveal how many people used the P2P plug-in.
CNN has been working with the Denmark-based company Octoshape for a few months now. Users install the Octoshape plug-in for their web browser, and this makes the regular Flash player, through which they view the stream, P2P compliant. This means that users who download the video partially to their computers also share it with others.
Approximately 30% of the bandwidth for CNN's live stream comes from peers. This obviously results in a significant reduction in bandwidth costs for the broadcaster. The rest of the bandwidth still comes from central servers to ensure that there is enough available for everyone.
CNN's live stream was boosted by Octoshape for those who watched it through the default Flash player, but not the Windows media stream. The Flash team from Adobe has been working on its own P2P Flash implementation, but thus far there have not been any public tests of its technology.
Last year, Tribler showcased its open-source streaming application, which relies solely on P2P through BitTorrent. Tribler is currently working with several European TV-broadcasters to test this technology in the real world.
In theory, broadcasters can send a live stream to millions of people by only sending out the stream once, from a single server. With the current upload speeds and the throttling efforts by ISPs, this still only works in theory. Nevertheless, since more-and-more TV is being watched online, file-sharing technology is the future.
Reminiscing Last Year's Super Bowl Ads
Excerpted from Network World Report
If Super Bowl Sunday has you hankering for the ads of yesteryear - or 2008 to be precise - users of GridNetworks' GridCast TV can view last year's Super Bowl ads via P2P on their Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or Internet-enabled TV.
Grid Networks - which names Cisco Systems as an investor - said it inked a deal with Superbowl-Ads.com to enable users to view last year's ads from Budweiser, FedEx, Toyota, Victoria's Secrets, and others using its P2P-based service.
Cisco Systems Puts Money into Digitalsmiths
Excerpted from NewTeeVee Report by Liz Gannes
Digitalsmiths has added strategic funding from Cisco Systems, the Research Triangle Park, NC based start-up said this week. Digitalsmiths had announced its $12 million Series B funding in November.
Digitalsmiths has always had some nice technology for smartly indexing video, but the company's real breakthrough came when it was used as the video platform for TheWB.com, and then extended that deal to power other Time Warner properties such as TMZ.
Cisco seems like a good strategic backer, given its recent emphasis on video. For instance, Cisco invested in P2P video platform GridNetworks last year, and said it would distribute Grid's P2P client in its home networking products. Cisco also recently released research pointing to the rise of professionally produced video.
Digitalsmiths said it would be tied to the Cisco Media Solutions Group and its efforts to bring products to media companies.
Omega Set to Provide Peru with P2P Service
Excerpted from Korea Times Report by Kim Yoo-Chul
Omega Tender, which specializes in service oriented interactive video application (SOIVA), said Wednesday it is at the final stage of negotiations with Telefonica in Peru to provide it with its wireless video networking systems.
Internet user penetration in the Andean nation is considerably higher than the average for Latin America. The Peruvian government is aiming to increase broadband penetration from 2% to more than 3% by 2011.
The plan comes after the firm's patented SOIVA service was named as a standard format by South Korea's Telecommunication Technology Association (TTA). The SOIVA solution system enables sellers and buyers to conduct direct deals by just putting an identification code on the Internet.
The P2P or PC-to-PC service is expected to integrate and simplify transactions in cyberspace, saving time and money for both sides, Omega Tender CEO Kim Sang-Yong said. "Users don't need to read product details in cyberspace,'' he added.
For the international standardization, the Korean government is planning to support 400 million won for the SOIVA system, government sources said. Backed by government support, the Korean company has been forecast to expand its global footsteps.
Omega has also recently been expanding its operations from China to the Philippines, exporting its products and services and helping authorities set-up e-government systems.
It is a leading patented platform provider that specializes in a number of multimedia services, such as video yellow pages, moving pictures, short message systems, real-time moving pictures electronic payment systems, and video conference maintenance technology.
PPLive Offers TV Programs via the Internet
Excerpted from Download Report
PPLive is part of a new generation of P2P applications that combine P2P and IPTV, called peer-to-peer television (P2PTV). The PPLive P2P television network software is becoming famous all over the world. It already has the largest number of users and the most extensive coverage on the Internet.
A variety of content is available through PPLive. The majority of it is categorized under movies, music, TV series, and live TV steaming. Also available are some specialties covering sports, news, game shows, etc.
PPLive features include: watch TV programs via the Internet, a clear and easy-to-use user interface, excellent cache technology, and powerful research support. Because PPLive uses P2P technology, the more users, the better their experience.
PPLive requirements are Windows 95/98/2000/2003/NT/XP/Vista and Windows Media Player 10.
To download PPLive, which is freeware with a file size of 2.81 Mb, please click here.
Babelgum Mobile on Vodafone Live
Excerpted from Info Mobile Report by Ben Robinson
Babelgum, the industry-leading P2PTV service, has launched a 6-month trial of "Babelgum Mobile" with Vodafone UK. The service will offer a stack of clips across a range of genres, all available for that best of prices - free!
Checking out Babelgum's site, "Whatever your passion, Babelgum has something for you: intriguing, unconventional bite-size videos for your mobile from Comedy.com, BBC, EMI (Coldplay, Robbie Williams, etc.) and Sony Music; plus exclusive content from Kaiser Chiefs, Stereophonics, Franz Ferdinand, and Irene Grandi.
You can also get previews from the Babelgum Online Film Festival and the Music Video Awards, dedicated to upcoming filmmakers and musicians from all over the world, with Spike Lee and Michel Gondry heading the juries.
Plunge into your Passion and watch videos for FREE right on your mobile!"
Vodafone users can download the app from Vodafone Live, which is initially for contract customers - in addition, users must have an N95, an N96, or 6210. Check out Babelgum's site here.
Sino Fibre Signs MoU with P2P Cash
Sino Fibre Communications, a broadband and value-added Internet services provider (ISP) in China, announced that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with P2P Cash.
The parties have agreed to jointly explore the business opportunity for integrating P2P Cash mobile commerce features into an advanced international barter trading platform to be used by Sino Fibre's joint venture with the China Association of Medium and Small Enterprises (CAMSE), to handle the barter exchange transactions between CAMSE members and/or other domestic and international barter clients.
Sino Fibre and CAMSE have agreed to work together to take advantage of advanced international management practices to provide barter trade services for Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises. Sino Fibre and CAMSE have jointly established China Business Online Company Limited in China, which will be wholly funded by Sino Fibre. CAMSE will provide the CAMSE brand, government, and member resources to develop the business of the JV.
Daniel McKinney, CEO of Sino Fibre, said, "P2P Cash targets customers from the world's fastest growing countries where the majority of mobile phones are sold - India, China, the Philippines, and Mexico - where countries lack widespread electronic banking and retail payment infrastructures and have extremely low credit-card penetration and usage levels.
This strategic alliance will position us to gain a considerable share of this segment in China with offerings that will enable processing of virtual transactions on the Internet with a license of P2P Cash's patent pending software."
LimeWire Creator Brings Open-Source to Urban Planning
Excerpted from Wired News Report by Eliot van Buskirk
Entrepreneur Mark Gorton wants to do for people what he already helped do for files: move them from-here-to-there in the most efficient way possible using open-source tools.
Gorton, whose LimeWire file-sharing software for the open-source Gnutella network has been at the forefront of the P2P revolution for nearly a decade, is taking profits earned as a software mogul and spinning them into projects to make urban transportation safer, faster, and more sustainable.
You might call it a "P2P-to-people" initiative - these efforts to make cities more people-friendly are partly funded by people sharing files.
That's not the only connection between open-source software and Gorton's vision for livable cities. The top-down culture of public planning stands to benefit by employing methods he's lifting from the world of open-source software: crowd-sourced development, freely-accessible data libraries, and web forums, as well as actual open-source software with which city planners can map transportation designs to people's needs.
Such modeling software and data existed in the past, but it was closed to citizens.
Gorton's open-source model would have a positive impact on urban planning by opening up the process to a wider audience, says Thomas Wright, Executive Director of the Regional Plan Association, an organization that deals with urban planning issues in the New York metropolitan area.
"99% of planning in the United States is volunteer citizens on Tuesday nights in a high-school gym," Wright says. "Creating software that can reach into that dynamic would be very profound, and open it up, and shine light on the decision-making. Right now, it becomes competing experts trying to out-credential each other in front of these citizen and volunteer boards. Gorton could actually change the whole playing field."
Portland, OR has already used his open-source software to plan its bus routes. San Francisco, CA, whose MUNI bus system is a frequent target of criticism, could be next to get the treatment.
Gorton says he's in talks with the city to supply transit routing software for MUNI that will do a much better job of keeping track of where people are going and figuring out how best to get them there.
Please click here for the full report.
Cox's Network Neutrality Plan Draws Fire
Excerpted from eWeek Report by Roy Mark
On February 9th, Cox Communications plans to begin testing new bandwidth management practices designed to slow traffic that isn't "time-sensitive" during periods of peak network usage.
"During the occasional times the network is congested, this new technology automatically ensures that all time-sensitive Internet traffic - such as web pages, voice calls, streaming videos, and gaming - moves without delay," Cox states on its policy site. "Less time-sensitive traffic, such as file uploads, P2P, and Usenet newsgroups, may be delayed momentarily - but only when the local network is congested."
Cox said January 27th that its new network management scheme is "based on the time-sensitive nature of the Internet traffic itself, and we believe it will lead to a smoother Internet experience with fewer delays." The company also states on its network policy site that the new approach "is not based on the owner or source of the traffic. For example, most Internet video competition comes in the form of downloadable and streaming video from the Internet."
The Internet advocacy group Free Press is not impressed with the new Cox plan.
"As a general rule, we're concerned about any cable or phone company picking winners and losers online," Ben Scott, Policy Director of Free Press, said. "These kinds of practices cut against the fundamental neutrality of the open Internet. We urge the FCC to subject this practice to close scrutiny and call upon Cox to provide its customers with more technical details about exactly what it's doing."
Scott said Cox gives little indication about how its new practices will affect Internet users, or if they comply with the FCC's Internet policies.
"We must be skeptical of any practice that comes between users and the Internet," Scott added. "Cox customers will certainly want to know more about how the company is interfering with their Internet traffic and what criteria it uses to discriminate."
Public Knowledge, another prominent Internet watchdog, was also critical of the Cox network management plans.
"The sketchy details of the Cox system make little sense," Gigi Sohn, President & Co-Founder of Public Knowledge, said. "Usenet is a text-based service, just as is most of e-mail. There should be no distinction between them. Video streaming takes up much more network capacity than P2P, yet is given Cox's seal of approval."
Google Takes Stand Against Bandwidth Throttling
Excerpted from Consumerist Report by Alex Jarvis
Google has decided to throw its weight around when it comes to Net Neutrality; the search giant announced a plan to let end-users see what their Internet service providers (ISPs) do with their bandwidth.
Google's plan is to empower users to see exactly what their bandwidth is being used for, or as they put it, "When an Internet application doesn't work as expected or your connection seems flaky, how can you tell whether there is a problem caused by your broadband ISP, the application, your personal computer (PC), or something else?"
An open, unbiased Internet connection is vital to us in this communication age.
Report Shows Anti-Piracy Measures Don't Work
Excerpted from TorrentFreak Report by Ben Jones
Traffic management company Ipoque has just released a white-paper, detailing pros and cons of different methods of dealing with copyright infringement on P2P networks.
Ipoque describes itself as "the leading European provider of deep packet inspection (DPI) solutions." The paper claims to "provide as objective as possible an assessment of the counter-measures for P2P."
On DNS blocking, the report says, "Blocking of IP addresses could be an additional measure in a combination of different measures, but is not the salvation of the problem itself." Indeed, DNS blocking is not very effective as has been proven by The Pirate Bay in its dispute in Denmark.
On URL filters, it says, "URL filters are widely available. Centrally hosted services and even BitTorrent trackers could be blocked. An up-to-date list of URLs is a necessary pre-requisite to make this measure effective. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to keep the URL database current. Affected sites could rapidly change URLs and propagate these changes. Ultimately, this would result in a never-ending cat-and-mouse game." The Internet Watch Foundation in the UK showed that blocklists don't work well when applied to known sites and content.
On swarm poisoning, "The injection of counterfeits has driven file sharers to the BitTorrent network that is nearly immune to this approach because content distribution is organized through web-based torrent directories. Conclusion: The injection of counterfeits is no effective counter-measure anymore."
On fingerprint systems, "Due to its computational complexity, fingerprinting does not work in real-time for high-speed networks. Also, even though ever more file and compression formats are supported, fingerprinting is blind to encrypted archive files (e.g., password-protected ZIP files), and these are becoming more-and-more popular. Large-scale deployment of fingerprinting technology would push the popularity of all kinds of encryption and render the whole technology useless as a counter-measure." These methods are highly ineffective.
On digital rights management (DRM), "In the past, any DRM mechanism was hacked or otherwise circumvented. This is highly likely to happen to new systems as well." DRM doesn't work, and has not worked. One person breaching it is all it takes, thanks to the Internet. Spore was a great example of how DRM only affects legitimate purchasers, and not the people it attempts to target.
In summary, "Most importantly, content providers need to provide high-quality, well-priced and easily accessible online content. New business models are inevitable. In the long run, this will make illegitimate sharing of copyright-protected material through the Internet a lot less interesting."
This is the crux. It's why rights owners are burying their heads in the sand hoping it will all go away. It's not surprising, however, that rights owners do not wish to move to unproven models that give smaller returns-per-unit, even though these should be more than offset by much greater volumes.
ISPs Say Eircom & Big Four Music Deal Could Hit Potholes
Excerpted from Silicon Republic Report by John Kennedy
The industry group representing twelve independent telecom operators in Ireland says Eircom's settlement with the big-four record labels - unprecedented in history - could run into a quagmire over privacy rights.
The Chairman of the Alternative Licensed Telecoms Operators (ALTO) group Ronan Lupton said that if a test case was brought by a group such as Digital Rights Ireland (DRI), for example, issues over breaches of privacy involving IP addresses could be raised.
ALTO's members include BT Ireland, Magnet Networks, NTL, Chorus, Smart Telecom, Budget Telecom, Cable & Wireless, Colt Telecom, Complete Networks, Digiweb, ESB Telecoms, Verizon, and 3 Play Plus.
Lupton said that Wednesday's agreement between Eircom and the record labels was a direct action against Eircom and is not enforceable on Ireland's other broadband providers.
"While we obviously do not condone unauthorized downloading over the Internet, we firmly disapprove of any draconian measures that would compromise the privacy, speed, or services offered to broadband users. We do not need measures to further impede the development of next-generation broadband in Ireland," Lupton stated.
The big-four record labels Sony, EMI, Universal, and Warner - via the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) - took Eircom to court, as the largest ISP in Ireland with 40% market share, to ensure technology was put in place to catch unauthorized P2P music sharers. They estimated that over six years their earnings from CD sales fell from 146 to 102 million euros per annum due to file sharing.
On Wednesday, the parties agreed on a joint approach under which they would work closely together to end the abuse of the Internet by P2P copyright infringers. The record companies will use a service called DetecNet, which poses as a P2P file sharer, to target the offending downloaders, and supply Eircom with the IP addresses of suspected copyright thieves.
Eircom said it will embark on a graduated 'three strikes and you're out' process. It will inform broadband subscribers that their IP addresses have been detected infringing copyright, warn them that unless they cease they will be disconnected, and if they fail to comply they will be disconnected.
But last night Ronan Lupton of ALTO said, "We're not party to the agreement with Eircom - we don't know the details of that agreement."
Lupton said ALTO had met with the music industry a few years ago and suggested a regulatory model to combat unlicensed downloading. He added that while ALTO's members aren't subject to the agreement, they aren't hostile to engaging in talks with IRMA.
ISPs Ready to Assist the RIAA?
Excerpted from Network World Report by Ian Paul
How does the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) plan to stop unlicensed file sharing? Perhaps by turning two of America's largest Internet service providers (ISPs) into stooges.
Last year, after a round of very public defeats over its plans to sue individuals for unauthorized file sharing, the RIAA unveiled a new plan to have ISPs do its dirty work.
There is nothing in writing yet, and both ISPs in question are reportedly very tentative about jumping into bed with the RIAA, but according to CNET News, the three parties are "close" to an agreement.
Under the arrangement, the RIAA would identify unauthorized file sharers and then the ISPs would issue take-down notices. If these take-down notices didn't work, the ISPs would follow their own tiered-response system, which could include suspension or termination of service.
Right now, nobody from either ISP is commenting.
There's also the question of what kind of impact these actions will have on the ISPs. If they are the only network operators sticking their necks out, then they may see their customer base flock to other providers that won't work with the RIAA.
However, this assumes the ability to file-share is a major factor for most ISP customers. While file sharing is a widespread phenomenon, it's hard to say whether the methods would cause a significant backlash, especially outside of the tech media bubble.
Regardless, the RIAA just doesn't seem to get it. Trying to create some sort of online police state for file sharing has already been shown to be ineffective.
There are other ideas, like a licensed P2P system recently announced by the Isle of Man and proposed by UK ISP provider Virgin Media. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), an advocacy group for online consumers, also supports licensed P2P.
It seems that the RIAA and ISP coalition will take us right back to where this whole mess began: needless lawsuits, bandwidth throttling, and aggravation on both sides.
Music Infringers Will Not be Disconnected from the Net
Excerpted from Times Online Report by Patrick Foster
UK Internet service providers (ISPs) will not be forced to disconnect users who repeatedly flout the law by sharing unlicensed music and video files.
Andy Burnham, UK Culture Secretary, said last year that the government had "serious legislative intent" to compel Internet companies to cut off customers who ignore warnings not to infringe.
However, David Lammy, the Intellectual Property Minister, said that the government had ruled out legislating to force ISPs to disconnect such users.
Speaking ahead of the publication of a report on the future of Britain's digital industries, Mr. Lammy said that there were very complex legal issues wrapped-up in enforced disconnection.
Plans to combat Internet infringers were stalled after a consultation by the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) showed there was no consensus between ISPs and the music industry as to how to deal with the seven million British Internet users who share unlicensed files each year.
Suggestions have emerged that Lord Carter will order the founding of a "rights agency," funded by a levy on service providers, to address the problem of infringement, or that he may suggest additional charges on customers' broadband bills to compensate the music industry.
In July last year, the music industry and ISPs drew up a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in which the ISPs agreed to send 1,000 letters a week for three months to combat users allegedly sharing unlicensed files.
The MoU also created a series of working groups dedicated to bringing the two industries together to solve the problem of unauthorized P2P networks, which the music industry says costs its members 180 million pounds a year.
The ISPs believe that new business models and greater public education will help to solve the problem. They oppose any solution that involves new regulatory burdens being imposed on them. The government, with the support of the music industry, favors a co-regulatory resolution, under which both parties agree to a code of conduct which is backed up by a regulator, such as Ofcom.
Mr. Lammy said, "We can't have a system where we're talking about arresting teenagers in their bedrooms. People can rent a room in a hotel and leave with a bar of soap - there's a big difference between leaving with a bar of soap and leaving with the television."
He said he hoped the MoU would mean that the Government did not have to apply "the heavy hand of legislation."
Music industry figures said they were disappointed by Mr. Lammy's comments. One senior figure said, "The relative cost of stealing a bar of soap from a hotel might be small, but if it came to seven million people nicking the soap each year, which is what we have in the music industry, I'm sure that hotel chain would do something about it."
ISPs, on the other hand, welcomed the news. British Telecom said, "We're still hopeful that an amicable solution, without the need for legislation, can be reached. It doesn't make sense to try to get people online and at the same time scare them away."
EFF Leads Support for Live Webcast of RIAA Hearing
Excerpted from Kansas City InfoZine Report
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is urging a federal appeals court to allow the live webcasting of a hearing in one of the thousands of lawsuits that have been brought against users of P2P file-sharing systems.
The District Court granted defendant Joel Tenenbaum's request to allow an upcoming hearing to be webcast on the website of the Berkman Center at Harvard, which also serves as Mr. Tenenbaum's counsel. The record company plaintiffs have now asked the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals to block the webcast.
"The record companies have long maintained that they brought these lawsuits against ordinary users to start a national conversation about P2P file sharing," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "What better way is there for the public to learn what the record companies are doing than by seeing for themselves what happens in these lawsuits?"
In the amicus brief filed Friday, EFF - representing a coalition of media and public interest non-profits - notes that the RIAA litigation campaign has elicited strong opinions and passions on both sides, making this case a good one for an initial experiment in webcasting federal district court proceedings.
EFF's brief was also signed by Public Resource and the Internet Archive, both of which have offered to host the webcast in addition to the Berkman Center.
Also joining EFF's coalition is Ben Sheffner of the "Copyrights & Campaigns" blog, who supports the views of copyright owners. Mr. Sheffner notes that, because he lives in Los Angeles, the availability of a live webcast would greatly enhance his ability to provide his readers with a full picture of what occurs at the hearing, without having to rely on accounts in other publications that he believes are biased against the plaintiffs.
Other signers to the EFF amicus brief include the Media Access Project, Free Press, and the California First Amendment Coalition.
The RIAA recently announced that it had stopped filing new lawsuits against individual file sharers. Yet it is continuing to pursue thousands of ongoing lawsuits like the one against Mr. Tenenbaum in the federal courts.
Over the last five years, more than 35,000 people have been targeted in the RIAA's litigation campaign.
For more on the RIAA's lawsuit campaign, please click here.
Coming Events of Interest
Digital Music Forum East - February 25th-26th in New York, NY. Participants include top label execs, artists and reps, association heads, attorneys, investors, consumer electronics, plus technology leaders from social networks, payments companies, online retailers, mobile companies, technology start-ups, and more.
East Coast Music Awards - February 26th - March 1st in Corner Brook, NL, Canada. Live, original music during a four-day festival. Terry McBride, Co-Founder & CEO of Nettwerk Music Group, will be the keynote speaker for the conference component of the ECMA weekend.
P2P MARKET CONFERENCE - March 17th in New York, NY. Strategies to fulfill the multi-billion dollar revenue potential of the P2P and social network channel for the distribution of entertainment content. Case studies of sponsorships, cross-promotion, interactive advertising, and exciting new hybrid business models.
Media Summit New York - March 18th-19th in New York, NY. Sponsored by McGraw-Hill and Digital Hollywood, the 2009 MSNY is the premier international conference on media, broadband, advertising, television, cable & satellite, mobile, publishing, radio, magazines, news & print media, and marketing.
Future of Television West - March 24th-25th in Los Angeles, CA. A cutting-edge community of content creators, technology innovators, advertising representatives, and distributors forge relationships and share ideas about the future of television. The event is interactive.
LA Games Conference - April 28th-29th in Los Angeles, CA. Focused on business, finance and creative developments in the games industry, including mobile, online and console markets and the increasing intersection of Madison Avenue and Hollywood with the industry.
P2P MEDIA SUMMIT LA - May 4th in Santa Monica, CA. The fourth annual P2PMSLA, the DCIA's flagship event, featuring keynotes from industry-leading P2P and social network operators; tracks on policy, technology and marketing; panel discussions covering content distribution and solutions development; valuable workshops; networking opportunities; and more.
Digital Hollywood Spring - May 5th-7th in Santa Monica, CA. With many new sessions and feature events, DHS has become the premiere digital entertainment conference and exposition. DCIA Member companies will exhibit and speak on a number of panels.
Streaming Media East - May 12th-13th in New York, NY. The number-one place to see, learn, and discuss what is taking place with all forms of online video business models and technology. Content owners, viral video creators, online marketers, enterprise corporations, broadcast professionals, ad agencies, and educators.
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