EMI Signs Up To P2P Technology

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

10 May 2005

Snocap, a digital music technology firm started by Napster creator Shawn Fanning, has signed a deal with EMI to license its audio fingerprinting technology, allowing control of legitimate distribution of music on peer-to-peer services.

EMI is the third biggest music company after Universal Music Group and Sony BMG Bertelsmann, both of which already have deals in place to register their content with Snocap. Snocap song fingerprints can be used on networks to control how files are to be played/protected, for example setting limits to the number of times a song can be played before a further payment is required.

"This sends a signal to music industry critics who claim we are technophobic. If anything, we are embracing technologies like Snocap, which allow the P2P (peer-to-peer) community to share music legally," said David Munns, chairman and chief executive of EMI Music North America.

Since the demise of Napster, legal online music services such as Apple's iTunes, RealNetworks's Rhapsody and a reformed Napster itself (belonging to Bertelsmann) have begun to established themselves, although copyright-busting P2P networks are still thriving. Music companies have begun to have limited success in attacking P2P services such as Kazaa and Grokster through the courts.

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