Sharman Networks has further infuriated the recording industry with the launch of the latest version of its popular KaZaA peer-to-peer file-sharing program. The new version of KaZaA allows users to search for and download albums all at once, and introduces a method for users to rate files, thereby filtering out bogus material posted by copyright holders.
In previous versions of KaZaA, if users wanted to download an album they had to locate and download all the tracks individually,
The new file rating system is intended to scupper the record industry’s plans to place worthless files on peer-to-peer networks under the names of popular songs. The plan was designed to put people off downloading from peer-to-peer systems, as they wouldn’t be sure the file they were downloading was genuine or bogus.
In a bid to broaden its revenue streams Sharman has signed a deal with Tiscali whereby the Italian ISP will promote KaZaA to its subscriber, and Sharman will promote Tiscali to KaZaA users.
