Swappers log off Kazaa as alternatives emerge
Published: 01 Jul 2004 11:15 BST
Part of the plan?
Another force also may be at work.
Along with joint venture partner Altnet, a subsidiary of Brilliant Digital Entertainment, Sharman has said it ultimately hopes to turn the Kazaa network into a distribution platform for authorised, paid versions of music and movies, crowding out copyright-infringing trades.
"By relegating non-(copy protected) files to a subordinate and comparatively unattractive access location... Sharman intended to promote and encourage only business appropriate file sharing and to share the net payments for (copy protected) works lawfully exchanged by users of the (Kazaa) software with Altnet," court papers filed by Sharman last September said.
Sharman itself has not provided any financial updates, but Brilliant Digital Entertainment's publicly available financial statements show a project that remains in its financial infancy. The company has touted growing use of Altnet by independent musicians, filmmakers and video game companies. In February, it said it was distributing more than 50 million authorised files a month.
However, revenue from this venture remains small, and may even be shrinking. According to documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Brilliant made just $124,000 (£68,280) from its online content distribution in the first quarter of this year, down from $171,000 in the first quarter of 2003.
Altnet executives did not return requests for comment.
File-swapping observers say the coming fall will be a test for Kazaa's future. A strong surge back from its seasonal decline might mean that the onetime leader will simply have to share the limelight with rival networks. If it continues to drop, a more significant shift might be under way, they say.
"If in September we don't see massive pile on (back to Kazaa), it will be something worth looking at," said BigChampagne chief executive officer Eric Garland. "If we see a whimper rather than a scream, there is a good argument to be made that at least some sizable population is moving on."
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