well i guess they weren't going to take declining cd sales but for so long...(i know there's a winmx thread already, but this is bigger than just winmx. )

WinMX Shut Down

By Richard Menta 9/21/05

I knew something was up with WinMX this morning when I checked up on MP3 Newswire's site statistics. By that point I saw that several thousand people had read a two year old article that we published on the future of WinMX, an article that by this time normally only received a few hits a day. Tom Mennecke wrote that article and it scores on the first page of Yahoo when you type in just the word WinMX. That position on Yahoo's page served as an early warning that file sharers in droves were desperately looking for something about the file share application.

A little searching on the Net and I found out why. The WinMX network was down and the WinMX.com homepage was offline. We still don't know why for sure yet, but it probably has to do with the cease and desist letter that the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) sent to several P2P networks. The letters basically said shut down or we'll sue.

There is something about the prospect of expensive litigation that can be quite intimidating. In this case the RIAA is leveraging the recent Supreme Court ruling that reversed two lower court orders that said P2P applications do not infringe on copyright.

The Supremes ruled that these services are liable if they Actively Encourage infringment. The court did not define what actively encourage really entails - theoretically if a P2P app is released with just a wink and only statements NOT to share copyright files it doesn't satisfy active encouragement - and so the trigger points as to what activities constitute liability were left for a lower court to answer.

Still the RIAA claimed complete victory and plans to sue more P2P services based on the threat that the lower court may declare liability on even the most minor acts of encouragement.
It looks like WinMX did not have the stomach for a legal fight. We don't know that for sure. I can say that because right now WinMX is incorporated on the Pacific island of Vanuatu, a safe haven for companies looking to avoid taxes and other legal limitations that can impede their business. There could be a technical issue too, but Tom Mennecke has said on his site Slyck.com that his attempts to contact the company head Kevin Hearn have gone unanswered.

We should hear more over the coming days. Maybe WinMX just loaded its servers onto a cattle boat pointed towards the South Pacific archipelago and will be running again soon.

Then again, maybe not. Stay tuned...



BASTARDS....
[Edited 9/23/05 16:21pm]

well, i haven't been using WINMX or kazaa or any of that stuff for quite a long time, so it doesn't really bother me - not to mention it'll mean less computers infected with viruses and spyware.

i think interpersonal trading has replaced a lot of these networks. it's getting easier to e-mail and personally post on free file-sharing sites, and it's also easier to trust the process when you're dealing with other traders in a more direct fashion.

of course, it's only a matter of time before the RIAA finds a way to crack down on this level as well.

That follows about what I was thinking. Crumbs , but thanks for the information. I never had any spyware problems with WinMx and could find obscure out of print stuff that didn't even show up on ebay. I loved it for that.

I'll only support the actions of the RIAA and other record industry organisations when every song ever released gets made legally available to download.

I don't give a flying fuck about no longer being able to sneakily get a new mainstream chart single/album track illegally for free. It's them all getting on their high horses and depriving music lovers the chance to even search for something that's completely out of print anyway, that they have absolutely no intention of ever putting out again.
[Edited 9/23/05 17:31pm]

What good has it done them? As soon as they go after one network, several more spring up. Alot of people abandoned WinMX, Kazaa, Grokster, etc.. a couple years ago. Torrents are thriving.

Tom said:

Thank heavens I finally figured those out.

GangstaFam said:

looks like I have some research to do!

damn, so it really is true . fuckin money hungry bastards!

its not gonna stop tho and i wish someone would just tell them that now instead of them wasting money suing people and shit, hiring lawyers and all that bool.
its never gonna stop, and i think they know it. they just too pussy to give up and admit defeat. what next? they gonna shut down ebay too? they might as well shut down the whole internet, cuz those download programs aint the only way to get ur music on.
if they really want this shit to stop then they'll reissue old out of print stuff and lower cd prices.

I've said it since the whole P2P controversy started. The recording industry has no1 2 blame 4 this but themselves!

nooooo! well kazaa is still working for me at least for right now. i wrote my congress person to complain when they shut down napster. they were having congressional hearings about it at the time. i don't think i feel as passionately about it as i did before.

Damn, that sux!!!

aw hell naw! ....



i wont even jinx "s$%#-s$@&" by saying its still working.

Ellie said:

i agree its not even really about popular shit on filesharing

winmx was good for a lot of rare music and video.

WHATS THE BIG DEAL???!! I mean, I think file sharing is a great way to promote lesser known artists. And as for top acts like Metallica, U2 and Madonna, their albums are going to sell either way(with their bank accounts, it shouldnt even be a problem).

At least that's how it is with me. I was a huge downloading junkie, yet that didnt stop me from buying CDs of my favorite artists. And while I do admit to downloading a single by some random artist and not paying for the product, their was really no way that I was going to shell out money for an album with 2 good songs and the rest filler.

Basically put: if your an indie artist:itll promote u
if your a major artist: fans will buy your shit either way
Anyone else: Make better music and then i'll buy the album

Thank God, um, the one I use, is still working. I only use it anyway for getting things that I can't find in stores anymore. I support the artists that I love by buying their new albums.

I'm still mourning the loss of audiogalaxy all those years ago, it really was the best, and only one service has come close since then. And it sure as hell ain't bearshare, although that seems to be the most popular one these days. The one I use seems to fly just under the wire of the RIAA.

But yes, obviously the RIAA will never win this battle, but of course they'll never admit that.

I don't see why I'm the only one who sees the solution:

Major label bands should let their albums be free online, and make their money off touring and merchandising, and pay per view concerts. This seems like a win-win deal. Listeners get the albums for free on their favorite p2p network, which makes them want to go see the bands live and buy their t-shirts, and people who, for example can't find baby sitters can watch the concerts at home on pay per view cable. -- This is basically what people do anyway.

smokeverbs said:

wow, r u serious? NEVER in a million years will that happen, cd sales are how they decide who gets what awards and all that, and what if an artist doesnt want to tour? they're a bit screwed at that point. and then if they DO tour the ticket prices are so damn high that yea people are gonna go see that artist, but not as many as it would be if prices were lower, AND everyone doesnt buy the memoribilia, thats an interesting proposal but i cant EVER see that even being considered by the industry. its like i've been saying, lower prices, their is no reason that one cd should be anywear from 15 -20$ thats like a dollar per song, if they'd sell cds for 5 -12$ people would buy more cds and probly not download as much

Moonwalkbjrain said:

Oh yes, because we all know that the only reason anybody makes music is so they can win awards


And even if you want to go with that um, brilliant theory, it wouldn't be that difficult to track downloads, and use those numbers to decide who gets awards.

smokeverbs said:

has nothing to do with that. the industry will never allow. an indie artist could do that if they wanted, but a major label artist NEVER could. also, ur right it wouldnt be that difficult to track downloads IF everyone was downloading from one source, what if fans decided to put the music up on their fanpage or people decided to email the track to their friend instead of directing them to the proper website? its an interesting proposal but i cant see that working or even being considered

i stopped using p2p too many viruses and too much spyware.
i just hope shutting the sites down does not drive cd prices up to what they used to be (which i suspect is their intention)

Moonwalkbjrain said:

thats true, i agree with u on that, there def. needs to be some kind of revolution in the industry, but who's gonna start it? seems like everyones comfortable, the artists seem comfy with there give and take - their getting paid not struggling, and i'm pretty sure them high level muthas are comfy with their cushy ass jobs. but yea i agree with u.



i know.



i know, i know about leakage and that piracy didnt begin with cd burners, but my point was if whole albums are available for download for free then obviously not EVERYONE is gonna go to whatever site(s) their suppose to, to get the tracks. its like i said, fans might put the songs up on their fansites. and people without comps might ask their friend to make them a copy.



o no i totally see where ur comming from and i'm sorry that i come off as negative, i get ur vision, i get what ur saying about all of this, but it seems like ur only viewing it from one side, like ur only thinking - well if they would just do this then this wouldnt happen - u have to look at it from every angle.