Files in Weed format carry their own store with them. They are designed to move freely from computer to computer. No 99 cents per download, no subscription fee, no lawsuit, no catch. They can be played three times for free, and then must be purchased to be played again.

The artists receive 50% of every sale, and a portion of each purchase is paid to file sharers as an incentive to support artists and respect their rights.

You can play a Weed file up to three times for free on any PC (Mac support is under development). After the three free plays, you're invited to purchase the file.

Once you purchase a Weed file, you're free to play it all you want on the computer that you used to buy it, and you can relicense it for free on two additional computers. You can also burn the file to CD and play it on your stereo system, and transfer it to a Windows Media-compatible portable device.

You can use any current Windows Media-compatible player software to play the file. Weed files are supported by current versions of Windows Media Player (version 7.1 or later), RealOne Player, MusicMatch Jukebox, and Winamp (version 5.08 or later).

Next, log in to your Weed account. If you don't already have an account, click the "create one now" link to be taken to a Web page to create your account. It's free and quick, and new accounts are loaded up with $5 to get you started.

Once your account is set up, continue on to purchase the files you like. Be sure to deposit more funds into your Weed account so that you can always quickly purchase the songs you love.

When a Weed file is purchased, money is shared with a few different people: the artist or rightsholder, the people who helped share the file, and the Weed service.

Specifically, the artist always receives 50% of each sale, Weed receives 15% for service and software maintenance costs, and the rest goes to those who helped distribute the file. The person who shared the file with the buyer gets 20%, the person who shared the file with the seller gets 10%, and the person who shared the file with that person gets 5% of the sale price.