Nine: The Changing Face of File Sharing
RIAA back on the prowl
Few topics in the tech world evoke as much passion as file sharing. Personally, if I write a blog on either AllofMP3.com or Bit Torrent, I’ve got to be especially careful not to anger someone. I’ve come to the conclusion that digital music aficionados are almost as bloodthirsty as Nintendo Wii fanboys.
The two do have something in common, however, with both seeing a major change in their general realm last year. Nintendo Wii owners are proud to tell anyone that their system changes the way gamers play via motion sensor technology, while digital music downloaders saw their own, equally massive shift.
The new trend in online music is clearly away from the illegal variety. Limewire, the most recent victim of RIAA attack, might just be the last of the protocols in the vein of Napster and Kazaa. Like Limewire, those two were snuffed out in recent years, and it doesn’t look like this kind of blatantly illegal program is going to be the future of digital music.
Instead, it has become very apparent that completely legal online music stores - like iTunes - are taking over. iTunes is growing in popularity all the time, although the most critical indicator of legal online music growth is the promise of other, similar stores. In the coming year, expect to see Microsoft grow support for its Zune, while retailers like Best Buy get into the act.
The other half of the equation includes those online music resources that straddle the line between legal and illegal. AllofMP3.com is now under intense pressure from the RIAA, although there’s far less evidence present than in previous cases against Limewire and Kazaa. In addition, the ubiquitous and yet mysterious Bit Torrent, including all of its mutant splinter cells, is almost impossible to tackle due to its open source design.
With the increasing presence of legal online music databases, it’s tempting to say the recording industry has cornered the pirates that so threatened musicians a few years ago (well, the majority of those not splashed all over MTV every five minutes). Still, open source Bit Torrent and Russian web stores keep that gray area ever-present and always infectiously controversial.
