A pair of serial entrepreneurs in Austria have bought the rights to defunct music platform LimeWire with plans to revamp its image for the Internet’s next generation by selling nonfungible tokens (NFTs) attached to music, content and art.
LimeWire, one of the earliest iterations of Web-based music consumption with a reputation as a haven for illegal downloads, ended in controversy in 2010 after a judge shut down the business for inducing copyright infringement, which was then followed by a US$105 million out-of-court settlement between major record companies and then-LimeWire chief executive officer Mark Gorton.
Now, brothers Paul and Julian Zehetmayr are hoping to use LimeWire’s early 2000s fame to attract users to their new cryptosphere platform, with the two spending most of last year steadily acquiring the various parts of LimeWire’s branding.
Launching in May with no affiliation to LimeWire’s original team, the new company, LimeWire GmbH, is to offer musicians a chance to gain more revenue from their music than they might on other sites such as Spotify or Apple Music.
“It’s a very iconic name. Even if you look on Twitter today, there’s hundreds of people still being nostalgic about the name,” said Julian Zehetmayr, who is to act as cochief executive officer alongside Paul Zehetmayr.
“Everybody connects it with music and we’re launching initially a very music-focused marketplace, so the brand was really the perfect fit for that with its legacy,” he said.
LimeWire is to debut with support for buying and trading music-related NFTs, such as exclusive songs, merchandise, graphic art and experiences such as backstage content.
The start-up is also to launch its own utility token via a private sale within the next three weeks, which would be used like a loyalty program, Paul Zehetmayr said.
Unlike other NFT marketplaces that transact predominantly in cryptocurrencies, all assets on LimeWire are to be denominated in US dollars, so as to expand its marketability to mass audiences, with payments accepted in crypto or fiat currency.
The platform is also to offer bitcoin and ethereum wallets, and custodial services for the tokens themselves, facilitated through a partnership with blockchain payments firm Wyre Inc.
About 10 “really big mainstream” artists have signed on to be a part of LimeWire’s offering so far, Julian Zehetmayr said.
Additionally, members of the management teams behind award-winning artists H.E.R. and the Wu-Tang Clan are to be joining the start-up’s board as advisers, along with Wyre chief executive officer Ioannis Giannaros and NFT consultancy 6 Agency, which facilitated the purchase of a rare Wu-Tang Clan album from the US government for PleasrDAO last year.
The acquisition of LimeWire’s assets and all current business activities are being financed out of the Zehetmayr’s own pockets, having exited two of their own start-ups in the past few years.
Although Paul Zehetmayr said that this has provided LimeWire with a solid runway for the foreseeable future, Julian Zehetmayr added that the company might seek outside funding later this year.
LimeWire’s makeover as an NFT marketplace presents an interesting juxtaposition: Its new founders are taking a brand known best for its role in pirated music and introducing it into an industry still seeking to shake off a reputation for selling scams and overpriced image files.
Yet the Zehetmayrs are unconcerned, saying that “the pros definitely outweigh any of the controversy.”
“After about 12 years of the platform being down, all the controversy that might have been in the past with the music industry has turned into nostalgia,” Paul Zehetmayr said.
To avoid any further legal complications attached to the LimeWire brand, upcoming cryptoasset regulation in Europe or even bad actors attempting to use the platform, the pair said that they have incorporated stringent anti-money laundering checks and hired accountancy giant EY to thoroughly vet its proposed activities.
The majority of the revenue would also go to the artists with the platform taking a small cut, Julian Zehetmayr said.
Jeanine McLean-Williams, adviser to LimeWire and president of MBK Entertainment, which represents H.E.R. among others, said she was especially focused on the opportunity NFTs could provide in bringing more equality into the realms of crypto and music.
“I love that the team is smart, innovative and diverse,” McLean-Williams said in an e-mail. “As an African American female veteran in the entertainment business, I’m looking forward to getting more females educated about and involved in the world of NFTs.”
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS