Media, music and software companies large and small are beginning to see peer-to-peer technologies like KaZaA as more than just a nuisance. As the NY Times reports, Altnet (profit from peers!) has begun helping these companies target specific audiences by placing movie trailers, sample songs and trial games at the top of search results in services like KaZaA. Promoted products include Microsoft's Windows Media Player and AtomShockwave's PhotoJam software, as well as small local bands seeing this as a way of getting their music heard.

The RIAA seemed pretty riled-up in the article, since these uses may give the technology the legitimacy it so deserves (or perhaps it’s because their lawyers won't let them use it themselves?). While we may not all agree on the legality of trading files, I think we can all see value in a cheap way of distributing content you have created yourself.

Trial periods are fairly successful in software, why not in music?