P2P pays up

Millions of files are downloaded via P2P programs such as Kazaa each week. For a large percentage of these files, each download constitutes a copyright violation. Organisations such as the Recording Industry Association of America and its Hollywood

Millions of files are downloaded via P2P programs such as Kazaa each week. For a large percentage of these files, each download constitutes a copyright violation. Organisations such as the Recording Industry Association of America and its Hollywood counterpart, the MPAA, have long criticised this aspect of P2P, deeming the entire technology useless for anything more than 'piracy'. However, if preliminary results from Altnet are indicative of wider trends, RIAA et al have been far from the mark when it comes to the potential of P2P.

According to this article, trials of Altnet, a P2P distribution network bundled with file sharing program Kazaa, have seen over 2 million 'secure content' files downloaded during a one month period. While not all files have been paid for (due to the lack of a fair pricing plan for purchasing music), other content such as games are brining in strong revenues.

The 40MB game file Robot Arena was paid for and downloaded around 15,000 times each week during the trial period. Each of these downloads generated $US19.95 for Altnet, paid for via credit card by the user downloading the file. In this way, users got the content they wanted when they wanted it, without violating copyright.

It'll be interesting to see how far Altnet can take its paid for download service, and whether the same formulae that seems to have worked for older games can work for new release games and music. Hopefully the record labels and game publishers will see the success of Altnet's trial and start treating P2P as a potential asset rather than the world's ultimate evil.