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Sony, BMG, Universal have signed with another!? Also several Indie labels??
Fanning's Snocap Signs Indie Labels

Mon Mar 21, 1:22 PM ET

Elizabeth Millard, www.cio-today.com

Snocap, a provider of digital licensing and copyright management for the digital music arena, has announced several agreements with independent record labels.
The latest deals include Absolutely Kosher Records, Artemis Records/Sheridan Square Entertainment, Gammon Records and TVT Records.
Also announced was an agreement with Independent Online Distribution Alliance, an aggregator of independent label content, which will bring more than 75,000 tracks from 500 independent labels to Snocap.
Mountain Top
Spearheaded by Shawn Fanning, creator of now-defunct song swapping service Napster (news - web sites), Snocap touts a licensed file-sharing service designed to facilitate the distribution of music on peer-to-peer services.
Labels and artists can register music and copyright information, then manage online distribution through Snocap's copyright management system.
A unique feature is the use of audio fingerprinting technology that identifies and tracks music.
"The authorized digital music marketplace, whether peer-to-peer or other online retail, can only be successful when consumers can access all the music they're looking for," Fanning said in a statement when announcing the deals.
New World
Fanning joined Snocap in December, noting at the time that the company was created to provide a platform for the industry and for consumers.
Unlike Napster, which was taken down in 2002 after legal wrangles, Snocap's technology is being embraced, rather than condemned, by the recording industry.


Earlier this month, the company reached a deal with Sony (NYSE: SNE - news) BMG Music. This followed a major deal with Universal Music Group, one of the plaintiffs that filed suit against Napster.


Financial terms of both the major label and indie label deals were not disclosed.


Chance of Success


Although Snocap faces competition from some startups, Yankee Group senior analyst Michael Goodman said the company has a good chance of success.


"By concentrating on digital rights management, they can offer peer-to-peer networking services without worrying about legal problems associated with unlicensed file swapping," he told CIO Today.


At a time when file-sharing is being targeted for litigation, Snocap's digital fingerprinting technology will likely appeal to record labels that want to take advantage of peer-to-peer technology but worry about piracy.


"Record labels will like Snocap, and that's where their success will lie," Goodman said.