Long-dormant music sharing site LimeWire relaunching in May

LimeWire's May re-entry will broaden the music collectibles market to the mainstream by drastically improving user experience and lowering entry barriers
Long-dormant music sharing site LimeWire relaunching in May

A redoubtable name in peer-to-peer file sharing in early days of the music via internet is marking its entry, yet again. Known for its easy sharing and distribution of music, LimeWire is coming back in May with its new avatar, which will be fully curated. Fittingly, its relaunch will have major artist partnerships from the music industry. The Vienna-headquartered platform aims to broaden the music collectibles market to the mainstream by drastically improving user experience and lowering entry barriers.

The platform aims to position itself as a mainstream-ready digital collectibles marketplace for art and entertainment, initially focusing on music. It will be a one-stop marketplace for artists and fans alike to create, buy and trade digital collectibles without the technical hurdles of the current NFT landscape. The company wants to bring digital collectibles to the mainstream and onboard one million users within the first year through partnerships with major artists in the music industry. Those interested can join the waitlist and be notified once the marketplace is live in May.

Music fans and collectors will be able 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.

Julian Zehetmayr, co-CEO, LimeWire said: “In an increasingly difficult industry with streaming
taking over and ownership taking a back seat, we are working to put artists in , and give them full flexibility and control, when it comes to their content. It’s important to note that we are not relaunching LimeWire as an alternative to streaming platforms, but rather as an additional channel for artists to sell exclusive music and art directly to collectors. We will also offer a unique method for artists to connect and engage with their most loyal community of fans.”

The startup aims to make onboarding easy for NFT newbies, with a quick and easy signup, seamless Know Your Customer process and items priced in US dollars. There is no crypto wallet prerequisite, and users will be able to purchase collectibles directly via credit card, bank transfer and other fiat gateways thanks to a close partnership with payment platform Wyre. The marketplace itself is designed to have an intuitive, state-of-the-art user experience and a more natural and familiar feel to the average consumer.

Paul Zehetmayr, co-CEO, LimeWire added: “The biggest challenge with digital collectibles and the broader crypto market in general is that it’s really limited to a small group of savvy users. There are big players on the market already, but the entry barrier is still too big to allow for mainstream adoption. If you are an average music fan on the internet, you might not own any cryptocurrency or have access to a crypto wallet, let alone understand the mechanics of collectibles on the blockchain. We want to remove all those obstacles and make it easy for people to participate, while at the same time offering an exciting platform for crypto natives.”

The company is working with top-tier artists to create different types of exclusive content, from unique and pricey one-of-one items all the way to collections that are attainable for and attractive to larger audiences. It is doubling down on the community aspect of NFTs in a unique way, allowing artists to open up channels of communication inside LimeWire to engage with their most loyal group of fans and buyers directly.

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