View Full Version : Limewire ordered to shut down permanently.
MixedVariety
27-10-2010, 21:19
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303341904575577192244735152.html?m od=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read
NEW YORK—Popular file-sharing website LimeWire has been ordered to permanently shut down six months after a federal judge found it liable for copyright infringement on a "massive scale."
In an order Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood in Manhattan entered a permanent injunction, ordering the service to disable the searching, downloading, uploading or file trading of its software and to block the sharing of unauthorized music files.
The lawsuit was brought in 2006 on behalf of the major record labels by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Another blow to illegal downloading.
David Holtzman
27-10-2010, 21:44
Another blow to illegal downloading.
Only in the sense that it's gonna be like, 2 whole weeks until an identical site pops up.
Sir Jack
27-10-2010, 21:56
Another blow to illegal downloading.
Move server out of US. Problem solved. And 3 new ones popped up.
I think I last used that in 2004.
B Ephekt
27-10-2010, 22:31
Only in the sense that it's gonna be like, 2 whole weeks until an identical site pops up.
While this is true, Limewire wasn't a site; it's one of hundreds of apps that made use of decentralized protocols such as Gnutella and Bittorrent. The client will continue to work with or without this company. If anything, as you said, it will merely spawn creation of new clients and protocols (which has already happened a la waste, freenet etc).
Piracy has existed for a very long time, and nothing short of the media companies adopting 21st century-friendly business models will stop that.
MixedVariety
27-10-2010, 22:32
Only in the sense that it's gonna be like, 2 whole weeks until an identical site pops up.
Yeah, I was kind of tongue-in-cheek there. Scads of other programs and opportunities already exist for illegal file-sharing, while serious pirates didn't use Limewire anyway.
However, I'm pretty sure a lot of today's file-sharing criminals cut their teeth on Limewire and downloaded (and shared) their first baby viruses through it. Might be kind of sad to see an old tradition die out.
I think this is great news, finally the digitally diseased site goes down.
Simply Kedde
28-10-2010, 11:24
Who uses limewire anyways?
Rhokk of Drogbar
28-10-2010, 13:06
Meh, this is bad news for the rest of us. I'm just glad that they aren't going after private trackers at the moment. I'm going to actually have to get a seedbox now, just to be safe.
If you're using Limewire, chances are that you're still on XP Home edition (NO Service Packs) and deserve anything that comes your way. Either that or you're on a Mac and think that no virus in the world could topple your 24" iMac.
Tender Wolf
28-10-2010, 20:40
Well that sucks. I haven't used Limewire but I can see why people would - why fork out the money for $20 CDs when you can get exactly what you want for free? You notice CDs aren't flying off the shelves these days like they did in the past. But Limewire and similar apps aren't the only reason for that - iTunes has made CDs pretty much obsolete. Thank God I got an iPod because I'd rather pay $1 a song than $20 for a whole album when I only want a couple of songs. Still sucks about Limewire, but since I haven't used it it doesn't matter to me. But I know a lot of people are going to be pissed.
Maybe I'm not listening to the music that the cool kids do, but I thought CDs were more like $7-15 these days. Still, I don't buy them often.
Glodrion
28-10-2010, 20:42
Now where the hell are pedophiles going to get their childpornography?!
Tender Wolf
28-10-2010, 20:48
Zalis: Around here they're still $15-20, if you can find one for $7 you're lucky. :tongue:
Skyy High
28-10-2010, 21:37
Well that sucks. I haven't used Limewire but I can see why people would - why fork out the money for $20 CDs when you can get exactly what you want for free?
At the risk of sounding like a wet blanket...because someone worked to write, compose, and produce that music?
Glodrion
28-10-2010, 21:56
Buying a CD barely supports the artist. It only supports the producer.
Also : http://thenextweb.com/shareables/files/2009/12/mtv_cribs.jpg
David Holtzman
28-10-2010, 22:19
At the risk of sounding like a wet blanket...because someone worked to write, compose, and produce that music?
A very potent argument if A) the money actually went to the writers/content producers and B) was priced according to something other than the monopolies they enjoy. When artists do such things, such as self-publishing through iTunes, they tend to do very well (well, assuming they're any good of course).
Simply Kedde
28-10-2010, 22:35
I never used any of the crappy programs like limewire, yet I can personally say I've downloaded more music than a lot of people.
What I do though, is buy the CD's, DVD's or anything from the artists whenever I feel like the entire album was well produced.
B Ephekt
29-10-2010, 00:47
Who the hell still buys CDs? I shed that inconvenience in like 99. All I ever did was rip them to mp3/flac anyway.
I've downloaded tons of music, but I also buy a lot of vinyl and mp3s. Typically if I download an album I like I'll buy it. Hell, I've purchased albums from itunes that were freely available on the artist's site, simply to support them.
Sure producers pocket a larger part of the money, but producers still have to hire and support artists to make said money in the first place. Self-publishing sounds like a better idea, but not sure how often it pays out...
Either way, I like to think that buying songs or CDs in one way or another contributes to the music industry and its artists and also all those other people who make it happen.
Rhokk of Drogbar
29-10-2010, 05:08
Given most of the tracks that pass off as "popular music" these days, I would rather let the musical industry rot. At least in America, anyhow.
"SHOTS!"*30
Dracanas
29-10-2010, 05:20
Given most of the tracks that pass off as "popular music" these days, I would rather let the musical industry rot. At least in America, anyhow.
"SHOTS!"*30
What I find funny is a lot of the good american artists seem to be more popular in foreign countries then they are in America, where as in general we in America just flock like mentally ill sheep to the bad ones.
[...]where as in general we in America just flock like mentally ill sheep to the bad ones.
:laughing:, /tear.
Crimson Front
29-10-2010, 11:53
Just because they shut it down, doesnt mean they wont make a new one with a different name.
Simply Kedde
29-10-2010, 17:38
No, Citruscable.
Oh come on, no way they'll make a new name that close to the old one, that's asking to get caught.
youlime
Tender Wolf
29-10-2010, 20:11
lol Nice speculation on new names. I remember BearShare from a few years back; it was also forced to shut down, hence why everyone moved to Limewire. If people want free music and are bound and determined to get it, they will. Another program will just pop up to replace this one.
iStealMyMusicScrooYouBigMusicProducersHahah.com
Disclaimer: I buy (the vast majority of) my music and encourage others to do that.
I download everything first these days. If I like it, I buy it; otherwise I delete it. But I don't buy anything without hearing it first. I got burned too many times in the pre-digital era, hearing a good song on the radio, buying the album and finding the only good song was the one on the radio. :grrrr:
Rhokk of Drogbar
29-10-2010, 22:22
I buy music when I want to show support towards an artist.
Example: I've had all of Deadmau5's discography (Around 10 albums, with EPs and all) for a while (I downloaded it). I recently purchased physical copies of his entire discography off of his website.
CD sales aren't in the crapper because of file sharing - they are down because of the complete crap that passes for music these days. There was a time when you had to be good to get heard, you had to work to get played, and you had to have talent to become famous. Now it is just corporate pop crap, and everybody can act like an *** and be a rapper.
Cyberman
30-10-2010, 09:20
CD sales aren't in the crapper because of file sharing - they are down because of the complete crap that passes for music these days.
I suppose that CDs all too often come with nothing more than a single sheet of paper(with the song titles at best) and loads of DRM doesn't help either.
I once put a CD into my CD-rom drive and almost instantly feared for the drives live.
The sounds I heard should not be made by any computer or part of it...
(i.e. DRM - CD player works fine, but CDRom sounds as if it's going to break apart any second.)
Simply Kedde
30-10-2010, 12:51
I agree, most bands or artists seemingly do not have the talent needed to publish good overall albums with a decent quality.
Expecting to spend money on all the filler and bad songs just to get the one hit single, maybe two seems pretentious. As it's a luxury good, people might just as well not invest in their music and go do something else which has a better money/enjoyment ratio.
CD sales aren't in the crapper because of file sharing - they are down because of the complete crap that passes for music these days. There was a time when you had to be good to get heard, you had to work to get played, and you had to have talent to become famous. Now it is just corporate pop crap, and everybody can act like an *** and be a rapper.
Mostly CD sales are down because kids today don't see the point of a piece pf plastic that only can hold like 20 songs, cost an arm and a leg, and that you cannot have with you at all times and use on all platforms.
Much can be said about music quality these days (mostly depending on how old you are:wink:), but fact of the matter is that the music business as a whole is still growing. The total earning is going up, there are more artists, and each artist on average is making more. The only "losers" are record companies. But even them are starting to branch off, taking a larger piece of the live concert revenues.
Records were once advertisement for concerts. Then concerts became advertising for the records. And now the records (or as we have now; downloads, iTunes and Spotify) are advertising for the concerts again. And since you cant download the live concert experience, it is all good. :grin:
MixedVariety
30-10-2010, 16:27
CD sales aren't in the crapper because of file sharing - they are down because of the complete crap that passes for music these days. There was a time when you had to be good to get heard, you had to work to get played, and you had to have talent to become famous. Now it is just corporate pop crap, and everybody can act like an *** and be a rapper.
Nonsense. There is plenty of bad music being made, and plenty of good music. You can find what you like if you look for it. I'd be more inclined to believe that the reason pirating is so popular is as simple as the definition of pirating itself: getting stuff for free instead of paying for it.
B Ephekt
30-10-2010, 17:34
Nonsense. There is plenty of bad music being made, and plenty of good music. You can find what you like if you look for it. I'd be more inclined to believe that the reason pirating is so popular is as simple as the definition of pirating itself: getting stuff for free instead of paying for it.
No, he's right to some extent; most mainstream music is horribly underproduced crap. It's not about what you like (I have just as hard a time finding good rock as jazz or downtempo), it's about objectively low production value. In many cases the big recording studios will find artists capable of playing instruments and then give them an image and sound to sell. That's why you'll find that a lot of people between 20 and 35 listen to non-top-40 artists; not only is the music self-written, the artists' love for what they do comes through.
One of my favorite artists right now, Pretty Lights (http://www.prettylightsmusic.com/), gives all 7 of his albums away for free (although he sells them on iTunes and as a boxset as well) and makes most of his money touring. His shows always sell out almost immediately. He will will probably never touch a top 40 chart or major label, and yet his music has more complexity and layering of different influences than anything else similar I can think of. He makes a living as an indie artists because he has genuine talent and soul. That's what most major label artists lack, and that's why their sales suck.
Rob Van Der Sloot
30-10-2010, 18:05
Nonsense. There is plenty of bad music being made, and plenty of good music. You can find what you like if you look for it. I'd be more inclined to believe that the reason pirating is so popular is as simple as the definition of pirating itself: getting stuff for free instead of paying for it.
It's not a matter of just the money. Almost 90% of the music I like can not be bought at any local store. I prefer to just download the mp3's, because I often end up using the music on the pc anyway. Are there still people that pop in a cd every now and then?
Simply Kedde
30-10-2010, 18:37
Whenever I buy a CD/DVD for the support, I'll put it in once, rip the things and store them on the harddrive and distribute them to the rest of my things from thereon, so not really. It's too inconvenient.
Skyy High
30-10-2010, 19:01
All the "people download music because music today sucks" arguments would hold a LOT more weight if people weren't, in fact, choosing to listen to said music. Take a look at the popularity of the torrents, and tell me with a straight face that the "crap" pop music isn't getting downloaded the most.
If people are downloading it, they want to listen to it. If they want to listen to it, they should purchase it. That's the way economies work. This faff about not wanting to pay for ****ty music, but still wanting it enough to download it for free, is just a rationalization to convince yourself that you're not really doing something bad. After all, it's their fault for producing **** music. You know what should happen if a record label is producing **** music? You don't buy it, and you don't listen to it. Doing the former but not the latter is just hypocritical.
Note: I am not arguing in favor of CDs. I have no idea why people are getting that impression. Digitial distribution is awesome, and it certainly can result in the artists getting paid more for their work (depending on the distribution system, of course). I object to the notion of people downloading, for free, music that the artists and producers want you to buy. I'm also not saying that most of the stuff produced is worth buying (though I'd reckon that many of the "music today sucks" crowd are blinded by nostalgia goggles), but that the proper response to that is not to just download the music anyway.
B Ephekt
30-10-2010, 19:59
Some studies have found (http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/04/study-pirates-buy-tons-more-music-than-average-folks.ars) that downloaders tend to make more purchases. The decline in CD sales seems to be mostly affected by low quality and an industry-wide refusal to accommodate the market for mp3s (a convenience product). Sites like Amazon exist that sell drm free mp3s, and they make a killing, but they lack a lot of stuff. iTunes has far more, but only plays on Apple devices for the most part. Most people, even those willing to purchase their music, will opt for the convenience of getting the music in their preferable format if faced with the choice of downloading illegally, having to rip a CD themselves or being restricted/not offered content at all.
Also, it hardly justifies it ethically, but artists get far more per-sale revenue from touring and merchandise than actual album sales. Personally, if I come across something illegally (usually sent to me, I don't really look) and I like it I'm far more inclined to purchase other albums, merch or see them live to support.
Gmr Leon
30-10-2010, 22:44
All I have to say, for the moment anyway, is that the only music I've ever pirated is that which I cannot, for the life of me, find in any local stores. Call me stubborn, but I refuse to buy them via iTunes due to the DRM that is sometimes placed on their music. Not to mention the fact that there's a slight quality difference, and you simply have more control with a disc (so long as it's not DRM-laden) than with the digital material. If you lose the files ripped from a disc, you can always go back to the hard copy and rip it again. If you lose files you've purchased from iTunes, you can sometimes get it back, but other times you just have to repurchase it, which is quite frustrating.
I do know this much though, whenever I've been able to find the music of those bands I've pirated from in a local shop, I purchase it and delete the old files, replacing them with those ripped from the disc.
Rob Van Der Sloot
31-10-2010, 02:07
Downloading is a great way to discover music you'd otherwise never hear. All the charts are filled with garbage, giving real bands not much of a chance. I'm glad I download music. I get high quality MP3's that are not filled with DRM, and if I like the music, I can always decide to get the album later.
Soulstorm
31-10-2010, 09:30
One of my favorite artists right now, Pretty Lights (http://www.prettylightsmusic.com/), gives all 7 of his albums away for free (although he sells them on iTunes and as a boxset as well) and makes most of his money touring.
Thanks for the tip; righteous tunes! :afro:
A very potent argument if A) the money actually went to the writers/content producers and B) was priced according to something other than the monopolies they enjoy. When artists do such things, such as self-publishing through iTunes, they tend to do very well (well, assuming they're any good of course).
I wish you'd stop agreeing with me. :wink:
For those who haven't read them:
Courtney Love's conference speech (http://www.salon.com/technology/feature/2000/06/14/love)
and
"Music is not a loaf of bread" (http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2004/11/65688)
Rob Van Der Sloot
01-11-2010, 01:41
I wish you'd stop agreeing with me. :wink:
For those who haven't read them:
Courtney Love's conference speech (http://www.salon.com/technology/feature/2000/06/14/love)
and
"Music is not a loaf of bread" (http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2004/11/65688)
That speech by Courtney Love is awesome! Thanks for the link.
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