Labels use decoy files to kick advertising to P2P pirates

19 Oct 06 00:37 by Crabbyappleton in category Uncategorized To news archive

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It’s no
secret that the P2P networks have plenty of decoy music files, mixed in among the real thing. Classically, they were used as a means to try and wear down P2P downloaders, who never tire of the lure of free, DRM-less music. Up to 30 out of the top 100 hit Billboard tunes may be floating around at once, as ringers for the real thing. Usually, even though they are not the real file, they will more often than not, top the search list and this really can be frustrating (I guess- I wouldn’t know).

But, here’s the twist, content creators and distributors are now using the decoy files to sling ads at the scofflaws. Because, labels and record executives finally wised up to the fact, that the people downloading illegally are huge music fans! The new thinking is that marketing to them may be more desirable in the long run, than suing or otherwise harassing them. Duh! In a weird way, I like this idea. But, then again, I like rope burns and trips to the dentist. Seriously though, maybe this is a move in the right direction indeed!

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>Hence the alliance between Jay-Z and Coke. By inserting promotional material into the decoy files, and then planting those files prominently on file-sharing sites, record labels and other marketers can turn what is now an antipiracy tool into an advertising medium. “The concept here is making the peer-to-peer networks work for us,” says Jay-Z’s attorney, Michael Guido. “While peer-to-peer users are stealing the intellectual property, they are also the active music audience,” and “this technology allows us to market back to them.”

Concert outtakes aren’t the only content. Audioslave, Ice Cube, Yellowcard and other music groups have used decoy files for their own version of viral marketing. With help from niche companies like Sparkart LLC and NFA Group’s BuyDRM, they put snippets of a song into the files with the promise that a stream of the entire song will be “unlocked” for everyone once the promotion is forwarded to enough people. The hope is that this will motivate people to send the file to lots of friends.

If you want to read more…then head on over to the Wall Street Journal!

Source: The Wall Street Journal