As of May 2010, it looked like LimeWire was nearing the end of its reign. Judge Kimba M. Wood of the United States District Court had ruled that the file-sharing site (and its creator Mark Gorton) committed copyright infringement, engaged in unfair competition, and induced others to commit copyright infringement. Despite this victory for the RIAA, they kept pushing with lawsuit after lawsuit, the latest which was filed on June 21th. Like Napster did before it, LimeWire is now responding by relaunching as a legitimate, subscription-based website in late 2010.
So what will LimeWire’s relaunch plans involve? Unsurprisingly, they’re very ambitious. Executives at the company described an upcoming, subscription-based “ecosystem” that includes desktop and mobile apps, a web-based component, and both downloading and streaming aspects. The development teams are also working on new components such as push playlisting and curated content.
LimeWire’s content will be also be cloud-based, meaning you can access it from anywhere. But the company isn’t looking to step on iTunes’ turf though. “Users will have complete and instant access to their entire library and catalog across their desktop, devices, and in the cloud,” a company executive relayed. “By syncing iTunes playlists and content to the cloud, users’ existing libraries are available to access and stream to a wide range of connected devices.”
Plus, once a song is downloaded through LimeWire, it will get added back into your existing iTunes collection too.
The big record labels like the new direction that LimeWire’s pursuing but are keeping the legal pressure on for now. An anonymous LimeWire source said, “we can confirm that in our ongoing dialogues with numerous industry executives, this service has been very well received.” Looks like the site may be able to cut down on its lawyer fees soon enough.
