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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/H022562/1
Title: Direct Assessment of a Method for Digital Music Distribution Supporting Revenue Generation and Sharing
Principal Investigator: Darlington, Professor J
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
BuyDRM NFA inc. Semetric Ltd. (MusicMetric)
Department: Computing
Organisation: Imperial College London
Scheme: Standard Research
Starts: 01 December 2009 Ends: 31 August 2011 Value (£): 202,016
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Management & Business Studies Multimedia
Music & Acoustic Technology Networks & Distributed Systems
New Media/Web-Based Studies Publishing
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Creative Industries Retail
Related Grants:
EP/H022503/1
Panel History:
Panel DatePanel NameOutcome
12 Oct 2009 Digital Economy Research in the Wild Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
We propose a project to carry out a trial, live on the Web, of a novel method for pricing and distributing digital music. This method has been developed by the Imperial College Internet Centre and was implemented and tested in a recent Digital Economy Feasibility Study. This trial will address the critical issue of whether this method will be adopted and used, for real, by music communities on the Web. If proven successful this method would offer a radical and far-reaching solution to the problem of illegal file sharing, currently so prevalent on the Internet.The method combines an innovative pricing model developed by Drs Rayna and Striukova, which allows users to download any music they want but only pay for what they enjoy (assessed by their listening patterns), with a novel peer-to-peer music discovery and dissemination process that allows revenue generated to be shared between the originating artist and the community. It is hoped that these incentives will be sufficient to persuade users to pay for content and avoid the need to attempt to curb illegal filesharing with draconian legal measures.The trial will be conducted in collaboration with artists and groups and music softare companies. The trial will comprise two stages; the first a live but contained trial involving Imperial College students the second a live open trial on the Web.The trial will also feature exploring the use of advanced machine learning software to enable artists better understand their communities' behaviour and the distribution of other music material including impromptu live concerts.If these trials are successful they would not only provide a means of solving the problem of Digital Piracy but also open the way for a thriving Internet music community and other Internet businesses..
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Impacts
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Summary
Date Materialised
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Project URL: http://projectmusicapp.com/
Further Information:  
Organisation Website: http://www.imperial.ac.uk