July 25, 2005 02:53 PM US Pacific Timezone

Experts Available to Discuss Legally Downloaded Music Tripled During First Half of 2005

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ExpertSource:

TOPIC: The International Federation of Phonographic Industries stated 180 million single music tracks were legally downloaded during the first half of 2005, according to an article by The Associated Press. In the first six months of 2004, there were 57 million downloaded tracks. The federation attributes the increase to the rising popularity of high-speed broadband connections and the campaign against illegal downloading.

EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:

David Del Beccaro is the President, CEO, and Founder of Music Choice, the worlds largest music network that programs interruption-free digital music for over 32 million digital cable and satellite television homes, which distributes exclusive music shows and concerts to over 44 million homes nationally. Music Choice has realized many successful initiatives under Del Beccaros direction, including; securing funding for the Music Choice partnership through discussions and negotiations with current partners: Adelphia Cable, Comcast, Cox Communications, EMI Music, Motorola, Microsoft, Sony Corporation, Time Warner Cable and Warner Music Group Inc. He can also discuss launching Music Choice Broadband that will give cable modem subscribers music channels via satellite in multicast format and bypassing the Internet to get the signal as close to the edge as possible for a higher-quality listening experience. PR Contact: Karen Doler 215-784-5842 kdoler@musicchoice.com

David Mercer is vice president of consumer practice for Strategy Analytics. He can comment on residential broadband Internet and home networks. +44 1582 589803 dmercer@strategyanalytics.com

Michael Merhej was founder of ground breaking peer-to-peer site Audiogalaxy. In 2001, Audiogalaxy soared to become one of the largest entertainment sites on the net with over 30 million registered users (the P2P service was later shut down due to a RIAA settlement). Now Merhej is the founder of ByteTaxi Inc., makers of FolderShare. This innovative software employs peer-to-peer (p2p) technology to help users create their own virtual private networks (VPNs), or libraries. FolderShare libraries allow individuals to share documents between their own PCs or with other invited members. The process of collaborating on files in a common space is an inherently social one--making FolderShare a new kind of media not only for small business, but also for friends and families. 512-477-9544 michael@foldershare.com

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