What Is Online Music File Sharing and How Did It Start?
Napster was the first and biggest free centralized peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing program during my early college years. The downloadable program allowed users to connect to each other online using their computers and swap primarily MP3 music files, ripped from store bought CD’s. With the ability to download free songs from Napster, many people started burning their own compilation albums without paying any royalties to the music company or the artist. The popularity of Napster peaked in early 2001 until the company was finally brought down by the music industry through a series of critical lawsuits that successfully proved Napster knowingly committed copyright infringement. However, since the demise of the free music days of Napster, numerous improved variations have since spawned, including Limewire, Kazaa, Morpheus, and BitTorrent. One of the programs that is still enjoying continued success today as a contributer to free music downloads is the Gnutella-technology based Limwire pro
Napster was the first and biggest free centralized peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing program during my early college years. The downloadable program allowed users to connect to each other online using their computers and swap primarily MP3 music files, ripped from store bought CD’s. With the ability to download free songs from Napster, many people started burning their own compilation albums without paying any royalties to the music company or the artist. The popularity of Napster peaked in early 2001 until the company was finally brought down by the music industry through a series of critical lawsuits that successfully proved Napster knowingly committed copyright infringement. However, since the demise of the free music days of Napster, numerous improved variations have since spawned, including Limewire, Kazaa, Morpheus, and BitTorrent. One of the programs that is still enjoying continued success today as a contributer to free music downloads is the Gnutella-technology based Limwire pro
