Abstract: A method and system for distributing “free” media content via a network or the internet, whereby media content files are bundled with advertisements that automatically expire and can automatically resurrect and/or update themselves. The nature of the expiration/resurrection/updating of these advertisements is based on a pre-defined number of impressions, a preset time limit and/or other usage protocols included in the header information of the file which are interpreted and enforced by a media player and/or other software/hardware components The distribution model for this system supports client-server models, peer-to-peer models and other networked models such as digital kiosks. This system supports media content that is linear (e.g. purely audio or audio/visual) and/or non-linear (e.g. interactive games, software, etc.) and this methodology can apply to any compression format of such content. This system can also incorporate appropriate security measures to prevent users from abusing the system.