14 DAY TRIAL // While the unauthorized file-sharing networks are attacked by the American justice, the legal ones are signing deals with the music corporations.
This is the case of Mashboxx, a file-sharing network, which has finalized a deal with Sony BMG. Mashboxx is run by the Grokster's former president, Wayne Rosso.
The companies announced yesterday that the price for Sony BMG song will be 99 cents, just as for an Apple song. The only difference is that MashBoxx users will be able to listen to songs several times before deciding to buy them. Mashboxx uses Snocap technology which identifies the songs according to the digital "fingerprint" and determines whether they are copyrighted or not.
According to Mashboxx CEO Wayne Rosso, "SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT has done the heretofore unthinkable: embrace file sharing. And in so doing has displayed great courage and foresight. We at Mashboxx are clearly overjoyed because this is a watershed moment in the evolution of the digital music marketplace. We hope it will be the harbinger of a brighter future for content owners, p2p technology and, of course, users."