So this primer lists the major players and introduces how they work, with some general, subjective ratings. Using, and protecting yourself, from these apps takes more work and research. The leading clients are less user-friendly, slower, and sometimes shady. This sounds great, even exciting, but it has shortcomings. And what's more, the surviving services are even better prepared to handle attack by the RIAA- either because they're more decentralized, use open standards, or flee offshore to evade the law. So it's all good, right? We can just keep swapping the music files that, of course, are still out there on people's hard drives. No sooner had I uninstalled Audiogalaxy than I found a few other services to use instead. Of course, every time the RIAA shuts someone down, a dozen more companies spring up to take over the business. The fact is that Audiogalaxy- and Napster before it- became essential parts of the listening habits of tech-savvy and even tech-illiterate people, and everybody wants a replacement. I won't waste your time getting into the ethics of file-sharing, or the debate over whether it helps or hurts record sales. What did they think would happen?īut the people I feel more sorry for are you and me.
Then, last week, the RIAA came in and shut 'em down. Despite running a decentralized server that merely listed the files available on other user's hard drives, Audiogalaxy managed to rake in six figures monthly by delivering a reported 1.5 billion hits a month to its advertisers. Sure, I feel bad for Audiogalaxy- they set up an entire business around matching would-be file swappers with like-minded music fans after the bloodthirsty, litigious record industry crushed Napster. Where would I go to download music? I already spend as much money as humanly possible on records, and there's no way I'm going to pay $15 bucks for discs I've never heard. When Audiogalaxy blocked its service last week, my blood ran cold. So where to go for free mp3s? Chris Dahlen, currently the Editor-in-Chief of Kill Screen, weighed the options, and the result is a look at what the file-sharing landscape looked like nine years ago. Hindsight: After the implosion of Napster, Audiogalaxy was briefly the file sharing tool of choice.
How to Survive Without Audiogalaxy: A Guide to File-Sharing Alternatives
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