Remember LimeWire? If you identify as part of the Millennial generation, then the chances are that you do. It was the place to "share" music (something that was, to be honest, pretty legally gray back then) during the rise of mp3s. But let's face it, we all used the service back then.
Well, good news for all of you diehard LimeWire fans: it's back. No, this isn't a joke.
The company tweeted out a minute-long video showing the evolution of the platform, which had its humble beginnings in 2000, and is a completely different entity over twenty years later.
For a full decade it was the go-to place for people to download music without actually paying for it. But the legality of file sharing was always pretty gray, and LimeWire was forced to shut down for good in 2010, after a court ruled that it was committing copyright infringement.
This new LimeWire isn't about sharing files and allowing users to access free music, though. In fact, it couldn't be any farther from that ideology. No, today's LimeWire will be focused on the distribution of NFTs.
And yet, they're rapidly increasing in popularity.
In the simplest terms, an NFT is a digital item that people can buy or sell, usually through cryptocurrency. But LimeWire's new business model aims to make NFTs more accessible to the average person.
Since crypto is the traditional way to buy an NFT (which is anything but traditional), people who don't trade in the currency can't usually buy them. Unless they decide to use LimeWire, it seems.
Ivis Buric, chief communications officer at LimeWire, said, "We want to bring the NFT world to the mainstream and to people who aren’t into that right now."
This could signal the start of NFTs entering the mainstream.
Their current lineup of artists include Brandy, Nicky Jam, 7 Aurelius, Dillon Francis, and Travis Barker of Blink-182 (and Kardashian) fame.
The artists will release LimeWire-exclusive content, including music and visual art-based experiences.
Owning a LimeWire original, which are a limited-run series of avatars, will act as a membership of sorts, allowing users to gain access to exclusive events and the like. This is all in an effort to create a LimeWire community.
Unlike the LimeWire of yore, today's version aims to make sure artists get as much profit as possible, promising up to 90% of the revenue from their NFTs. This is a bigger cut than what music streaming services like Spotify give them.
NFTs are definitely a hot topic of discussion these days. Whether you like them or hate them, you can probably agree that, like LimeWire, they're here to stay.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
