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Alluvium - Frequently Asked Questions
Alluvium - Frequently Asked Questions
How does Alluvium work?
Read the Technical Overview page.
How are peers coordinated? Does it scale?
The current Alluvium codebase includes a distributed hashtable implementation based on
Chord. This method of peer coordination
should scale very well. However, this is not enabled in the beta version which is now being
tested. In order to reduce variables in the beta test, coordination is done by the
Open Content Network gateway. It is currently unknown
how many simultaneously peers the gateway server can handle. We hope to discover this during
the beta testing period.
Is Alluvium broadcasting really "streaming"?
Although the RIAA makes a distinction between streaming and downloading, this distinction
has never been technically defined. Therefore, it is not totally clear if broadcasting
with Alluvium falls into the legal category of streaming. While it is our goal to do whatever
is necessary to have Alluvium broadcasts fit the definition of streaming, while still
retaining the fundamental benefits of our approach, there is no way to tell for sure if we
meet the definition unless it is challenged in court.
How does broadcasting with Alluvium affect licensing royalties for webcasters?
First, read jwz's Webcasting Guide. The main question regarding Alluvium is whether it legally counts as streaming (see above).
If so, then you can pay your normal ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and RIAA fees, assuming that you
follow the ASCAP restrictions on playlists.
We are also working with Creative Commons on making it possible to obtain webcasting licenses
for unsigned music directly from the artists, in which case all such licensing fees could be
avoided .
Is Alluvium free and Open Source?
Yes, Alluvium is released under the GPL and is available for free.
E-mail the webmaster
Last modified: Tue Feb 11 16:57:42 CST 2003
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Alluvium