LimeWire NFT Market Place: A Dark Past But a Bright Future Ahead?

LimeWire is rebranding as an NFT Marketplace. In 2000, LimeWire jumped into the market as a file-sharing platform allowing users to download music as MP3 files for free. After heavy lawsuits, the company was shut down in 2010 after a permanent injunction. Now in 2022, LimeWire has come back as an NFT Market Place.

What is an NFT Marketplace?

According to coindesk.com, “NFT marketplaces are platforms where NFTs can be stored, displayed, traded and in some cases minted (created).” In short, it is a place where you can sell NFTs. Unlike other Cryptocurrencies, NFTs cannot simply be bought on centralized or decentralized crypto exchanges. Instead, they must be listed and traded in these specified Market Places.

To list, trade, and mint on one of these marketplaces, a user must do a few steps. First, a crypto wallet must be set up, next, you will need to pre-fund your crypto wallet with the appropriate cryptocurrencies before users can trade and mint NFTs, lastly, users will need to set up an account on the specific marketplace they wish to utilize.

A Brief History of LimeWire

If you were a youth in the early 2000s, you probably used LimeWire to download MP3s to your iPod or burn CDs. LimeWire was a free peer-to-peer file-sharing platform. It was released in May of 2000 by Mark Gorton. By 2005 The platform had 1.7 million users downloading music, videos, and software. Though wildly popular by users, things quickly took a turn. 

Because of their lack of content control and filtering, hackers began to run rampant on the platform. Viruses and bugs became a real issue. Users didn’t know if they were downloading the newest Lil Wayne mixtape or a proverbial bullet to their PC. Even worse, child pornography found its way on the platform. Users who wanted some new tunes were now in danger of downloading and possessing illegal content. 

$75 Trillion lawsuit

Though illegal child porn continued to float, the company’s profit margins more than tripled between 2004 to 2006, going from $6 million to $20 million. That’s when the RIAA got involved. In a dark twist, it wasn’t child pornography that killed LimeWire. It was copyright infringement. The entire time LimeWires revune increased, the RIAA and its companies lost millions. The RIAA claimed that the copyright violation cost them 150,000 per illegally downloaded track. They claimed that LimeWire had distributed over 11,000 songs totaling $75 trillion in losses. In the end, both sides had to compromise. In 2010, the judge ruled that Limewire had to cease activities and pay for damages. $100 million vs the $75 Trillion the RIAA asked for.

The New LimeWire

With the dark times over a decade behind them and music streaming leading the charge in profit growth, LimeWire is seeking to come back in a big way. Along with coming back as a first-of-its-kind partnership with legendary Ibiza clubs Ushuaïa & Hï Ibiza. The deal will give LimeWire NFT holders exclusive access to the historic club, including free entry, and an exclusive launch party invite. 

With so many NFT marketplaces available, This partnership adds unique value to LimeWire NFT holders. With the company’s history of disruption, let’s see if they can continue on the more positive and innovative side of their history.