Remember the trend of downloading music from LimeWire in the 2000s? Now, the platform is making its comeback into the virtual space.
After once being defunct in 2010, LimeWire is resurging as a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace “with a focus on music, art, and other entertainment-related content,” according to Bloomberg.
In 2021, Austrian brothers and entrepreneurs Paul and Julian Zehetmayr bought the software’s intellectual property rights to bring its takeover from back in the day into a new era where NFTs are the current trend.
“The issue with the NFT market is that most platforms are decentralized,” Julian told CNBC. “If you look at bitcoin, all the exchanges are making it really easy to buy, trade and sell bitcoin. There’s no one really doing the same in the NFT space.”
He continued: “We’ve obviously got this great mainstream brand that everybody’s nostalgic about. We thought we needed to build a real mainstream user experience as well.”
The New LimeWire
The platform has transformed from being a peer-to-peer file-sharing service to being an online space for users “to buy and trade a variety of music-related assets, such as limited editions, pre-release music, unreleased demos, graphical artwork, exclusive live versions, as well as digital merchandise and backstage content,” according to a press release.
LimeWire reportedly has about 10 of today’s top artists that are joining to bring it right back into mainstream culture. It also has an advising board with members from the management teams for R&B singer H.E.R. and Hip-Hop pioneers Wu-Tang Clan.
In addition, the outlet shares that users can buy tokens — in U.S. dollars — on LimeWire GmbH with credit cards and bank accounts. Typically, NFTs are bought with cryptocurrency.
LimeWire GmbH's Launch
Past LimeWire users and those anticipating the comeback can expect the launch to be in May.
To join the waitlist for early access, click here.
