iMesh Announces Distribution Agreement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

[g-smooth2k]

source: Business Wire

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 2005--iMesh, the first established peer-to-peer (P2P) service to transition to an authorized model, today announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, representing a significant and positive turning point for the future of legitimate P2P.

Under the terms of the agreement, SONY BMG will license its digital content for distribution in the new iMesh. The deal underscores iMesh's commitment to offer its community many of the user benefits common to the P2P file sharing experience while assuring compensation to registered rightsholders.

"SONY BMG was quick to recognize the commitment of iMesh to transition the power and attraction of P2P file sharing to an authorized model that would acknowledge underlying rights while enhancing the consumer experience," said Robert Summer, Executive Chairman, iMesh. "We look forward to working with SONY BMG as we jointly usher in a new era of music distribution."

"We are pleased to make our music available to the new iMesh as they build a service that will offer consumers a compelling experience and will respect our copyrights," said Thomas Hesse, President, Global Digital Business Group, SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT.

Slated to roll out this year, the new iMesh will offer consumers a broad selection of easily accessible content of all genres to be discovered, shared and enjoyed within an active P2P community. Authorized content will be available through ala carte downloads and a subscription sales plan, allowing users unlimited music downloads, for a low monthly fee. The iMesh site will also open access to a large pool of content culled from multiple sources, including the Gnutella network, that will remain available for unlimited downloads that are free to the user. The iMesh community will be able to search, sample and download a growing selection of more than 15 million tracks as part of a shared experience. To further assure the compensation of rightsholders, iMesh enables a confirmed rightsholder to register their content and make instant claim for protection and compensation for their works under a mutually agreed formula.

About iMesh

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in New York, iMesh is one of the original peer-to-peer (P2P) services and the first to transition to a commercial model that guarantees payment to rightsholders. The company took proactive steps to settle a copyright infringement lawsuit with the recording industry in July 2004. Thereafter, iMesh undertook to build a new model and developed the technology that allows P2P to maintain its best features while attracting users to a pay service.

About SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT is a global recorded music joint venture with a roster of current artists that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars, as well as a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT is 50 percent owned by Bertelsmann A.G. and 50 percent owned by Sony Corporation of America.

[the great one]

I used Imesh when I first got into filesharing,it's too bad they went down this route.
I haven't used Imesh in years,and now I'm glad I haven't.TRAITORS! :devil2