trueice and GristyMcFisty used our news submit to tell us some entertainment entities are starting to see the file sharing community as a valuable resource. One company, called BigChampagne, is tracking music downloads for radio giant Clear Channel. Another, Jun Group, is deliberately releasing music to Web file sharers in order to give exposure to the masses.
BigChampagne also tracks song-swap networks such as Kazaa and Morpheus for record labels, who in turn use the data to persuade radio stations to play their songs. BigChampagne also tracks song-swap networks such as Kazaa and Morpheus for record labels, who in turn use the data to persuade radio stations to play their songs.
Tracking downloading activity often foretells a hit before a song gets radio airplay. If a particular song is heavily downloaded, a record label could use that as a selling point to ask radio stations to put the song in a heavier rotation. |
Another interesting point is mentioned in the article: "Many labels are hesitant to admit they are talking with Jun Group or using BigChampagne due to the industry`s anti-piracy fight. The industry`s argument in court battles against file sharing hinges in large part on the argument that file-sharing networks serve no purpose other than to foster copyright infringement.
Record labels` very use of file sharing networks for market research or promotion purposes undercuts that legal claim."Source: btopenworld.com
