Just stopped by Webtalk Radio to check out their most recent show (April 9, 2005) where the subject was: Will P2P Networks Go Legal. There is one legal P2P music network which they didn’t mention that’s coming out soon called Peer Impact™ [screenshots here], which as of this writing is still in beta invite-only status. I signed up and received an invite and proceeded to help them debug some problems with DRM. They have latched onto to the invite-only marketing method, however, unlike other invite-only schemes they actually do fulfill invites if you sign up on the PI website otherwise I would not have gotten in so quickly and this one truly feels like an old-fashioned beta. For that reason, I’d be happy to send a Peer Impact invitiation to anybody — whether I know you or not — who leaves a comment here with their email. Rob, Dana and Mitch, if you would like an invite just let me know.

So what makes Peer Impact any different than iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody, etc.? Only one significant thing that I could tell from about a month worth of testing. I’m not sure exactly how much I am able to say so I’ll keep the commentary brief and give a couple direct quotes from their FAQ:

Peer Impact™ allows members who have purchased content from the service to market and redistribute it to other members. When a sale has been made and inventory is drawn from a member’s shared folder, that member is rewarded with cash credit known as Peer Cash™. Peer Cash can then be used to purchase additional digital music and other content via the service.

After distributing a few files I’ve made $.06 in Peer Cash so far. The developers were very generous when I helped them uncover a rather serious bug and they credited my account with $10 for “all my problems.” Heck, I expect problems when it comes to true beta testing. As for the subject of whether Peer Impact is really, truly legal?

Peer Impact™ is the first authorized, legal peer-to-peer (P2P) embraced by the major record labels. Peer Impact is also finalizing negotiations with many of the best known Independent labels to ensure that our members have the greatest variety of music to choose from.

I’m not sure how PI will ultimately go over in what’s clearly a crowded online music arena, but it’s definitely a different spin with a legal P2P music store that shares a tiny (very tiny) amount of the revenue with its members.

• Today only 10/12/07 noon to midnight 29 cents a song special at Grooveshark
• Wallop of invite only offers
• Google pulls sites that allow unauthorized Kazaa downloading
• Microsoft axes Vista P2P feature
• Thanks Google for introducing and popularizing invite-only elitism
• Napster download feature