Ouch!

Kazaa, the file-sharing outfit domiciled in Vanuatu and operated from Australia, has made a deal with the movie and record industries. Kazaa pays “in excess of $100 million” to the record companies (who as we all know are hurting for money). They also agreed to license music from the big 4 record companies. (The independents are on their own.) And, while the companies don’t actually get a piece of Kazaa, they get 20 percent of the proceeds of any eventual sale of Kazaa. No mention of pounds of flesh or first born children, but they’re probably in the fine print.