DCIA and P2P Users to Help Hurricane Katrina Victims

Trade Group Members Distribute Original Content with Proceeds Going to the Red Cross

Arlington, VA (PRWEB) September 4, 2005 -- The Distributed Computing Industry Association (www.DCIA.info), a trade organization with fifty-six Members representing peer-to-peer (P2P) software providers, content rights holders, and service-and-support companies, will offer P2P users, estimated to number more than 10 million in the US, a way to help victims of Hurricane Katrina by buying and sharing music with others.

The program kick-offs this weekend with the new original song, This Too Will Pass," written and performed by Scooter Scudieri (www.firstrockstar.com), distributed via major open P2P software programs -- such as BearShare, eDonkey, Grokster, Kazaa, and TrustyFiles -- by INTENT MediaWorks (www.intentmediaworks.com).

P2P Users will be able to preview the song for free, then download and purchase it for eighty-nine cents ($0.89). Of proceeds from each sale, eighty cents ($0.80) will go to the American National Red Cross (www.redcross.org) to help support victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The music track will be secured using the Weed technology of Shared Media Licensing (www.weedshare.com).

Scooter Scudieri is the 'most-searched-for' independent artist on P2P, logging over 50 million searches to date. His current music video, Mother Of God," has been downloaded more than 200,000 times.

American Red Cross volunteers have been deployed to the hardest hit areas of Katrina's destruction, supplying hundreds of thousands of victims left homeless with critical necessities. Proceeds from the P2P fund-raiser will be contributed to the Red Cross' Hurricane 2005 Relief fund to help provide shelter, food, counseling, and other assistance to those in need.

Hurricane Katrina, which devastated parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, is inspiring traditional and digital media to respond with fund-raisers. As the newest online distribution channel, we felt we should also take responsibility to help victims," said DCIA CEO Marty Lafferty in announcing the launch of this program.

"Music has healing power. I wrote 'This Too Will Pass' early in the summer of 2005 coming out of a personal tragedy. When I saw the devastation in New Orleans, I knew something positive could result from releasing the song's energy," noted Scooter Scudieri on his decision to record this new track to help hurricane victims.

INTENT CEO Les Ottolenghi added, In the coming days and weeks, other DCIA Members and industry participants will join us in contributing additional content to this program, and we expect a strong response from P2P users who want to do their parts."

P2P is an emerging commercial force and we're very pleased to see it put to use to help those in urgent need," Shared Media Licensing President John Beezer concluded.

About the DCIA:
The Distributed Computing Industry Association (DCIA) is a non-profit trade organization focused on commercial development of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing and related distributed computing technologies.

Its Members include 33rd Street Records, A Matter of Substance, Alston & Bird, Altnet, Bennett Lincoff, BlueMaze Entertainment, Centale, City Canyons Records, Claria Corporation, Clickshare Service, Cybersky-TV, DeviantART, Digital Containers, Digital River, Digital Static, EZTV, Good Witch Records, Go-Kart Records, Grokster, Indie911, INTENT MediaWorks, Javien, Jeftel, Jillian Ann, Jun Group, KlikVU, Kufala Recordings, Macrovision, MasurLaw, MusicDish Network, Nettwerk Music Group, NuCore Vision, One Love Channel, P2P Cash, PlayFirst, Predixis, Project V-G, Rap Station, RazorPop, Relatable, RightsLine, Scooter Scudieri, Seamless P2P, Shared Media Licensing, Sharman Networks, Silverton Consulting, Skype, SMARTguard Software, Softwrap, Sovereign Artists, SVC Financial, Telcordia, Unity Tunes, V2 Records, Visionary Strategies, and Vmedia Research. BigChampagne serves as the DCIA's official industry data resource.

DCIA Membership is organized into three Groups: Content, Operations, and Platform. The DCIA conducts working groups and special projects, such as the Consumer Disclosures Working Group (CDWG), P2P PATROL, MGM v. Grokster Response Working Group (MGRWG), and the P2P Revenue Engine (P2PRE). It also publishes the weekly online newsletter DCINFO.

Media Contact:
Kelly Larabee
602-258-1416

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