Soribada, Leading P2P Music Service Provider, Obtains Government Approval for DRM-free Subscription Service

Soribada, Inc., a leading P2P music service provider in Korea, announced that it obtained Government approval for its subscription-based MP3 download service, the first of its kind in the world. Established in May 2000, Soribada has been widely called the Napster of Korea. It has unleashed a whirlwind of popularity, with its number of registered users having reached 15 million or 32 percent of the entire population of South Korea. However, it has also been embroiled in various copyright lawsuits over the past seven years similar to the fate of other P2P businesses throughout the world.

Soribada is intent on moving past its legal troubles and has been proactive negotiating with music labels as well as copyright-related associations. In July 2006, Soribada began its subscription-based commercial P2P service offering unlimited downloads of DRM-free music, the first of its kind attempted in the world. Ever since, it has taken positive steps to protect copyrights such as adopting audio fingerprint technology that filters out unlicensed tracks from Soribada’s P2P network and operating an in-house copyright protection center. At present, Soribada has more than 700,000 paying subscribers and earns 27.5 billion won (USD 29 million) in sales and 3.7 billion won (USD 3.9 million) in operating profit (2007).

The Government’s approval was under an amendment to the Regulation on Collection of Musical Works, under which the Government-designated copyright-related associations collect a fixed rate royalty from sales made by music service providers.

The Government’s approval was well received by Soribada, as it can now secure firm legal status under the Intellectual Property Right Act and resolve various legal disputes.

Soribada CEO Sean Yang said, “We became the world’s first business to provide a commercial P2P service offering unlimited downloads of DRM-free music in July 2006. That was after making agreements with the three leading domestic copyright-related associations in an effort to legitimately participate in the digital music market. We think that this approval is a result of the Government’s appreciation of our efforts.”

Riding the momentum of approval from the Government, Soribada plans to venture into overseas digital music markets. Yang added, “We have an ambitious plan to expand the sphere of our P2P-based music download service business beyond Asia, to Europe and North America.”

Soribada, Inc.
5th Fl Trust Tower 275-5 Yangjae dong, Seocho ku, Seoul, South Korea

CONTACT:
Global Marketing Team
Lee, Kwang-hee
+82-2-562-7188 sales@soribada.com

Established in May 2000, Soribada, Inc. is a leading P2P music service provider in Korea. In July 2006, Soribada began its subscription-based commercial P2P service offering unlimited downloads of DRM-free music, the first of its kind attempted in the world.

This release was published on openPR.