KaZaA Owner Plugging P2P In Major International Ad Campaign

Sharman Networks, owner of the KaZaA service, today kicks off a $1 million global advertising campaign designed to drum up public support for peer-to-peer distribution. Sharman is hoping to increase pressure on the major labels to cut wholesaling agreements with Altnet, the commercial service distributed through KaZaA.

Sharman is urging consumers to write to legislators and labels expressing their preference for P2P services as a vehicle for obtaining content online. The company is also hoping to drive its more than 60 million Internet users around the world to try commerce-oriented offerings like Altnet.

Print ads will begin running today in Rolling Stone, select newspapers and student publications in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. Sharman also plans to target Web sites like Yahoo!.

Sharman chief executive Nikki Hemming says the campaign is a "trigger for mobilization" for consumers and content owners. She says the company is looking to participate in the shift of consumers "from free content to trying and buying."

One ad is an open memo from KaZaA fans to the major labels and movie studios, imploring them to sell content through the network. "You are missing the opportunity to capture an enormous market. The world of entertainment is changing," it says.

Labels and studios-which have ongoing copyright infringement lawsuits against KaZaA-have yet to cut deals with Altnet.

Two other spots are aimed at consumers, urging them to express their willingness to buy music through KaZaA. Sharman has set up a Web page at kazaa.com/revolution to assist consumers in contacting public officials, media companies and the press.

Sharman's move to generate support for P2P comes amid reports of declining use of such networks following record-industry lawsuits against individual file swappers.