LimeWire To Shut Down Completely On December 31

NEW YORK — Lime Group, whose LimeWire software was barred from letting people share copyright-protected files over the Internet, will shutter the remainder of its operations on Dec. 31, the company said Friday.

LimeWire, which enabled people to share copyright-protected songs and other files, received a federal injunction in October. At the time, the company said it would continue developing a new, legal service that would include a desktop player, mobile apps and a catalog of music from which people could stream and download songs.

"As a result of our current legal situation, we have no choice but to wind down LimeWire Store operations," spokesperson Tiffany Guarnaccia said Friday. "Given our current situation, plans to bring our separate, legal music service to market, have been canceled."

Comments

[khaledusto]

02:16 PM on 12/09/2010

thank you
http://windows-topsoftever.blogspot.com/

[danivers]

09:40 AM on 12/06/2010

Call it stealing, or whatever you want. The simple fact is that loads of consumers, now that they have the means to revolt, have stated very loud and clearly what they believe a pre-recorded song is worth... nothing. Not a dime. Not when it gets played on public airwaves (and can be legally recorded from the radio) for free.

But concert ticket prices are at an all time high, and each summer some other band is breaking the record for the highest grossing tour. We aren't all a bunch of thieves looking to scam artists or record companies. This is plain and simple capitalism at work.

We respect the work it takes to produce an album, but we don't feel that artists should be able to coast for life off of a single measure of work (studio performance). Get out there and play.

And lets be clear about one thing. If you download music illegally, you are hurting record companies, NOT artists. Several artists have been paid big dollars by record companies to make us believe that they are victims. They're not. Artists get paid to produce live performances (actual ongoing work). Record companies get paid (mostly by the artists) to produce records.

Steal an album, buy a concert ticket instead. Artists will get to keep more of the money from their (actual) work, and the record companies will learn what we consumers believe their product is worth. The best new artists release on YouTube for free anyway.

[SeenItBefore]

10:01 AM on 12/06/2010

Good Points, but you are aware that Congresspersons coast for life after one term, and the thought of that kind of 'life' insurance is very tempting.

[drummyst]

11:23 AM on 12/06/2010

Dude, you know nothing about the music biz. Most tours, except for those behind megabands like the Stones, are loss leaders. When you steal music digitally, you're killing the artist, not just the record company. That's not propaganda, that's a fact. Taking something for free that has value and a price tag is called theft. You might steal a dictionary and look it up.

[danivers]

08:58 AM on 12/07/2010

Um, OK. You typed it so it must be true right? I know nothing about the music biz.

But these guys do:

http://www.theroot.com/views/how-much-do-you-musicians-really-make?GT1=38002

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/magazine/16-01/ff_byrne?currentPage=all

Does is hurt to be so utterly wrong? I hope so.

[sev87]

06:11 PM on 12/05/2010

I don't really think of it as stealing. Nobody is deprived of anything if I download a song, especially if I had no intention of buying it in the first place. They can't claim any monetary loss!

[2lib4oh]

03:09 PM on 12/05/2010

Is it legal to play music that you have purchased in situations where other people can hear it? Or is that a violation of the copyright?

[danivers]

09:49 AM on 12/06/2010

It is if you own a restaurant or bar featuring a jukebox or live local bands. ASCAP fees are ridiculous, and most of the money goes to RIAA lobbying and lawsuits against consumers.

[montanbud]

09:09 AM on 12/05/2010

Sorry to see it go....anything that helped people who could not afford the scamming/outragous prices that the record companies and artists charged for subpar/inferior work is a good thing...99% of music pushed by the big companies is not worth owning.....put out a good product and people will buy into it and want to support it...put out junk and this is what happens

[poyapictures]

10:21 PM on 12/04/2010

I just stole this article.

[Derek Brett]

09:32 PM on 12/04/2010

Thank god.

[Joe in Vegas]

07:17 PM on 12/04/2010

Whenever you put in a perfectly legal DVD in your player, the first thing they do is threaten you with imprisonment and a $50,000 fine. Is this where the music industry is going? Whenever you listen to you're perfectly legal DVD or MP3, before you can enjoy your music, you must first listen to someone threaten you with arrest an imprisonment if you copy or distribute your music?

[Kozmo Koz]

07:27 PM on 12/04/2010

Yea they feel they have to remind dome people its AGAINST THE LAW TO STEAL IT! WOW, the nerve of those poeple////why would they want to protect how they make a living..? I dont get it?

[dshep369]

07:55 PM on 12/04/2010

you know, i agree with you; but i wish people didn't steal my privacy without paying for it; it's all the rage these days but no one talks about it :)

[maryloo]

08:23 PM on 12/04/2010

Yeah, reminding the people that have actually purchased your work that they shouldn't steal it and pissing them off in the process is a brilliant marketing strategy.
The people running these companies are verifiable geniuses.

[T-Haight]

07:39 PM on 12/04/2010

Have you ever felt like you were going to do something that would cause you to be subject to any of those penalties? I never have, so I guess it doesn't bother me. If you feel like your behavior could result in any of those, perhaps you're the one with the problem, not the industry.

[Theatrixnyc]

11:40 AM on 12/18/2010

Tell me again why it's more expensive to produce CD's than albums? The thieving was going one way for years, now it goes two ways.

[KingFool]

06:57 PM on 12/04/2010

What about the 50 other programs that do the exact same thing?

[Chris Worthington]

06:45 PM on 12/04/2010

Limewire was horrible anyway. Torrents are the way to go.

[Kozmo Koz]

07:00 PM on 12/04/2010

yea torrents are the best way to STEAL peoples lifes work...congrats....you found a way to steal and not go to jail you should be proud...

[maryloo]

08:26 PM on 12/04/2010

Kosmo have you ever see the contracts the music companies make up and coming bands and musicians sign?
It isn't the downloaders that have been stealing from musicians for the last 50 years.

[GeoNorth]

06:39 PM on 12/04/2010

I heard somewhere that statistics show that people who pirate music also buy more music.

The whole music scene is changed. The record companies messed up by being late to the table. They only seem to sign humongous talent (that is sometimes short on talent but big on marketability) to package for maximum sales, damn the art. Witness the Nashville scene. 99% of what they produce is utter crap. That is not to denigrate country music, but the very best of it is done mostly on indie labels because Nashville can't smooth the edges. Remember, twang is not a production value, twang is a soul.

Because of new jungle rules, serious artists need to decide how they will make a living. Will they make money from touring with some extra cash from CD sales at the back of the room? Or will they depend on internet CD sales and do an occasional live appearance? Or find a miserable job in a miserable economy. Or starve. It can work, but not for everybody. Only the artist can decide which path to take. And how much to endure.

It's goddam cold in the music world. Hell, music is the only warmth.

[Kozmo Koz]

08:46 PM on 12/04/2010

so you have the right to steal from the record companies and take from the artists because you dont like how they treat the artists that youre stealing from?

[GeoNorth]

02:45 PM on 12/05/2010

Not what I said, Koz. I stated a statistic. It shows how screwed up the whole scene is. I do not advocate stealing music files. But it stands that the people who do pirate tunes, also buy the most. They don't steal everything.

I know one artist who is a songwriter of some note. He never recorded an album, but he wanted to. He went to his publisher who was also a record label. They told him no. So he recorded it himself and sold it on the 'net. He did very well. Beyond minimal costs, he made some good money. The record company took notice and helped him record his second album. But they didn't promote it and it tanked. They tore up the contract and gave the artist the CDs. He put them on the 'net and sold out. Again, he did very well.

The record companies don't control the industry like they used to. They are very frustrated. It's time for every artist to decide which course will work best for them. There is no standard.

One more thing. It is apparently illegal to trade music files but...I can listen to a song from a variety of sources. It remains on their hard drive. I only listen to the stream. If I switch on my ProTools to record, I can "tape" the audio, convert to MP3 and burn. That's legal. What's the difference? There is the debate.

[scorpioleidy]

06:20 PM on 12/04/2010

My teenaged son is going to be V E R Y disappointed about this!

[gravityhunter]

05:23 PM on 12/04/2010

I got some of the coolest viruses from Limewire

[James Gallagher IV]

05:18 PM on 12/04/2010

Lady Gaga is worth $60 million in this age of massive pirating. In this case at least it is hard to argue that pirating has had a negative effect.

[RyanLee Spencer Billow]

04:07 PM on 12/04/2010

People still use Limewire?

[maryloo]

08:27 PM on 12/04/2010

Only the people that work for music companies. They're a bit slow apparently.