LimeWire to relaunch as a music NFT marketplace

09 March 2022, 10:50 | Written by Cerys Kenneally

(News)

LimeWire, which was shut down over a decade ago, will be relaunched in May as a "digital collectibles marketplace for art and entertainment, initially focusing on music."

The peer-to-peer file sharing service, which gained a reputation for providing illegal downloads for music, was shut down in 2010 by Judge Kimba Wood, who ruled that LimeWire and its founder Mark Gorton had committed copyright infringement. In May 2011, Gorton agreed to pay 13 record companies $105 million in an out-of-court settlement.

Today (9 March) it's been revealed that the nostalgic file sharing service will be relaunching as a marketplace for music-related NFTs, which will feature songs, merchandise, graphical artworks, backstage content and more. Bloomberg reports that assets on LimeWire will be listed in U.S. dollars, and will accept payment in both crypto and "fiat currency."

LimeWire co-CEO Julian Zehetmayr revealed that they'll be working with some "really big mainstream" artists for the relaunch. According to Engadget, Julian also said in a statement that "it’s important to note that we are not relaunching LimeWire as an alternative to streaming platforms, but rather as an additional channel for artists to sell exclusive music and art directly to collectors."

Earlier this month it was revealed that Bob Dylan was the founder of a new NFT project called Snowcrash.