Peer Impact to go live...

Mon Jan 31 2005 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,119259,00.asp

From Steve Fox at PC World:

Legit Peer-to-Peer File Swaps

The Buzz: A little startup is about to make a huge splash, introducing a legal and music-industry-blessed file-swapping service. Peer Impact breaks from the gate with a massive catalog, courtesy of the major labels (Sony BMG, Universal, and Warner; at press time, an EMI agreement was being negotiated), with plans for video, animation, and games in the works. Tunes come with a license and a key, and the system's BitTorrent-like mesh architecture breaks files into packets that can be downloaded from multiple sources and reassembled on your PC. Pricing is the usual 99 cents per song, but users get discounts for sharing bandwidth and acting as content hosts.

Bottom Line: Finally! A P-to-P model that both the suits and the geeks of the world can love. This is going to be big.