NEW YORK (By
Pauline Stack/ ASCAP) - ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), the leading U.S. performing rights organization, and technology company LTDnetwork (a subsidiary of Advanced Technology Industries announced today that they have agreed to enter into a licensing arrangement for royalty collection and distribution to writers and publishers whose music will be available via LTDnetwork's Qtrax P2P network.
Qtrax is an ad-supported legal P2P service that marries the power of Peer-2-Peer and quality Internet advertising to provide improved value to the consumer. Qtrax will provide users with a legal file-sharing venue designed to prevent the unlawful distribution and/or reproduction of unlicensed copyrighted content and provide for the protection of intellectual property owners' rights, as well as their compensation. Files authorized for sharing by content owners will be freely transferred via the Qtrax P2P network and supported via content filtering technology.
"This agreement reflects ASCAP's approach to new technology, which focuses on the maximization of members' performance payments through the development of new performance mechanisms," said ASCAP Assistant Vice President and Director of New Media & Technology Matthew J. DeFilippis. "Qtrax joins an expanding list of digital music services that have realized the business-building advantages of an ASCAP license."
Allan Klepfisz, President & CEO of Advanced Technology Industries, said: "We are delighted to work with ASCAP, an organization that has a pivotal role in the music industry via the 230,000 U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers it represents. Qtrax will change the way digital music is offered and has the potential to better compensate rights owners while offering the consumer more of what they want. It has taken us almost four years to reach a point of broad acceptance for our model and we are firmly focused on its potential to be an industry standard."
About ATI
Advanced Technology Industries, Inc. is a technology holding company devoted to technology identification and acquisition, as well as research and development leading to commercialization of innovative products, including proprietary technologies. Through its subsidiary, LTDnetwork, Inc. ("LTD''), the Company owns a range of cutting-edge proprietary software products developed by LTD that are designed to facilitate and enhance the purchasing experience of both its own customers and those of leading Internet companies that will utilize the products under joint venture or licensing arrangements. The Company is currently focusing on the launch of LTD's innovative P2P file sharing service, Qtrax. The Company has offices in New York, New York and Melbourne, Australia.
About ASCAP
Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization representing the world's largest repertory totaling over 8 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 230,000 composer, lyricist and music publisher members. ASCAP also represents the repertories created by the international affiliates of 70 foreign performing rights organizations. ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances. ASCAP is the only American Performing Rights Organization owned and governed by its writer and publisher members.
