LimeWire has signed a new partnership with Universal Music Group that will allow the recording giant’s artists to use the NFT marketplace to sell and market music-focused NFTs, it announced Tuesday, May 17. This is the first major logo partnership for the new LimeWire, which relaunched as an NFT marketplace in March.
As part of the components partnership, UMG will provide content licenses to LimeWire, allowing the market to partner with UMG artists to sell audio recordings, audiovisual content, artwork, bonus tracks and more directly to fans. Collectibles from these artists can be purchased with card credits, and the LimeWire platform will handle fuel prices and “technical hurdles on behalf of its users,” according to a press release.
Originally founded as a peer-to-peer file-sharing site in 2000, LimeWire, along with other similar sites like Napster, temporarily revolutionized the music industry after a decade of great growth. Archives, LimeWire and others are cited for plummeting recorded music sales from their record $14. 6 billion in 1999 to just $7 billion until the time LimeWire shut down its business in 2010, the result of a 4-year legal war against record labels and the RIAA.
However, in March 2022, LimeWire reappeared with a new owner, namely technology marketers Paul and Julian Zehetmayr, and announced plans to renew the logo in an organized marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFT). Interestingly, the announcement repositions LimeWire’s reputation from an unlimited file-sharing platform to a limited grocery shopping platform. Unlike its previous owners, LimeWire no longer fights the recorded music industry, but works collaboratively with it.
In April, LimeWire announced that it had raised $10. 4 million in a personal sale of its LMWR token, directed through several major venture capital firms. There was also Deadmau5’s 720Mau5 venture capital fund and DAO Jones, a music industry investor organization that includes Steve Aoki.
In a statement, UMG’s executive vice president of digital business development and strategy, Jonathan Dworkin, expressed appreciation for LimeWire’s focus on “guiding everyday users in this vast field. “He added: “Universal Music Group has prioritised the creativity of its artists and we appreciate the enthusiasts’ preference for taking new and cutting-edge paths. Today, NFTs offer an exciting vehicle to enhance this connection between artists and audiences. That’s why we’re thrilled to have partnered with LimeWire.
Paul and Julian Zehetmayr added: “We see this partnership as a true demonstration of the speed at which the music industry is embracing the Web3. We are excited to open the LimeWire NFT ecosystem to Universal Music Group artists and enthusiasts and look forward to seeing the first projects introduced to the market.