WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., Oct. 7, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Altnet, a subsidiary of Brilliant Digital Entertainment (AMEX:BDE), the leading provider of secure digital media via Internet peer-to-peer technologies, announced today that it has entered into a commercial distribution agreement with MetaMachine, Inc., developer of Overnet and eDonkey 2000, two leading peer-to-peer networks. Marking a major step forward for commercializing p2p, the agreement calls for Altnet to distribute secure music, video, software and games, on behalf of artists and rights holders, to Overnet users. MetaMachine is Altnet's latest affiliate in a growing list of distribution partners that include the Kazaa Media Desktop and Excite's My Search Toolbar.
Under the terms of the agreement, MetaMachine will integrate Altnet's TopSearch Gold Icon technology, placing licensed files aggregated by Altnet into preferential placement in the search results on MetaMachine programs. MetaMachine will also incorporate Altnet's payment gateway, which allows their users to simply and securely purchase every TopSearch file they download.
"With TopSearch, Altnet ensures that artists, musicians, and copyright holders are paid when users share and play their files. Altnet also ensures that users who download Gold Icon files they find in TopSearch are guaranteed that the file is high-quality and legal for them to download and share," said Derek Broes, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Operations of Altnet. "We're thrilled to be working with MetaMachine. Our distribution agreement underscores our mutual commitment to commercializing peer-to-peer networks and making them a place where users and copyright owners can both win," stated Kevin Bermeister, CEO of Altnet.
Added Jed McCaleb, Founder and CTO of MetaMachine, Inc, "We are dedicated to making peer-to-peer a viable and profitable marketing channel for content owners. We hope more content owners will work with us to effectively reach the immense user base in a simple and secure way."
About Altnet
Altnet is the leading peer-to-peer distributor of secure digital media that originates from content owners. Altnet reaches an estimated 100 million users and is the No. 1 issuer of rights managed music in the world. Altnet's products integrate with websites, applications, and peer-to-peer networks to allow Internet users to simply and easily locate, download, try, and purchase digital content. Altnet is a subsidiary of Brilliant Digital Entertainment (AMEX:BDE).
About MetaMachine, Inc.
MetaMachine is the developer of the eDonkey2000 and Overnet peer-to-peer communication and data storage networks. Through several existing partnerships and its unique "Download Center," MetaMachine is a pioneer in the development of distribution models in which copyright owners can profitably market their digital media on peer-to-peer networks.