March 07, 2008 by sharky
RIAA + Shareaza = The Proof
There is no *definitive proof* that the IFPI and/or RIAA is involved in the latest Shareaza scandal - at least no paper-trail has yet been brought to fruition. However, the evidence lies within the fact that iMesh, BearShare and the new Shareaza v4 are all the same P2P client. We already know the RIAA had a heavy-hand in flogging iMesh and BearShare into submission, and in turn conjured up a whole new proprietary P2P software solution as a pay service. How is it possible that this rogue company called Discordia Ltd. - who now owns shareaza.com - got hold of the same proprietary client used by the RIAA? Remember folks, that iMesh & BearShare are not open-source projects. This was no coincidence.
Knowing full well that defeating P2P is futile, perhaps the RIAA methodology is to gobble up as many of these P2P trophies as they possibly can. The philosophy is akin to laying out a spiderweb in the hopes to catch whatever passes your way - the “flies” being unwary seekers of file sharing programs. In an effort to thwart illegal file sharing by branding many well-known P2P programs as “legit” and, of course, pay-to-use, this undoubtedly catches at least some hapless passers-by. It’s a simple lesson in playing the percentages - exactly the same as when they send out those deplorable “Pre-Lawsuit” letters to college kids - some will bite; others will not.
This “dragnet” approach must work to some degree. Take the Shareaza example - since the takeover on Dec. 19/07, Shareaza.com traffic has plummeted, but perhaps not to the extent of what we’d expect (or hope) to see. Statistics show that they rebounded quite nicely since that fateful S-Day one week before Christmas (although latest trends show they’re on a slippery slope). The stats from three major web traffic analyzers (compete.com, quantcast.com and Alexa.com) all show the same metrics. Notice the decline in page views, traffic and overall rank, spanning across the last three months:
Another way to interpret the data is to look at trending since Dec. 19/2007. Clearly they rebounded for the first month, but traffic has been sliding ever since. People are catching on.
So, what’s the reason behind this sudden interest (but recent decline) since the webjacking of Dec. 19th? There are a few reasons, actually:
1. — People were upgrading their existing older versions of Shareaza, and being redirected to the bogus domain. At the time, all older versions would have seen a message similar to the one shown below: (NOTE: this has since been fixed in the latest version of Shareaza, available at the true official website - http://shareaza.sourceforge.net/). This is now beginning to wane as more and more people came to their senses and downloaded the proper version. P2P filesharers are a fickle bunch - take away their free P2P program and slip in a new “pay” program, and most (if not all) won’t be one bit happy about it.
2. — For the first month or so, major software hosting websites such as download.com, tucows.com, afterdawn.com, etc. were offering the newer ShareazaV4.exe version (which is the scam “version” of Shareaza). We’re happy to report that they’ve all switched back to the official version of Shareaza - v2.3.1.0. This explains the dropoff in traffic numbers to www.shareaza.com in recent times - nobody is linking to that bad file anymore since the scam has been publicly exposed. A “Google search” for Shareazav4.exe turns up very few results.
3. — The “scam” Shareaza website still generates a large number of HITS in a search engine. If you do a search for “Shareaza” in Google, the ’scam’ site is the first result shown. Without a doubt, they still develop a lot of traffic from unwary visitors who don’t know any better, and this will continue to occur. Again, it’s a percentage game. It’s for this exact same reason why the RIAA acquired the domain names for iMesh and BearShare - people remember a familiar name, type it into a search engine and voila! they’ve fallen into the trap. They would like nothing better than to “own” Limewire.com as well.
RIAA + Legal P2P File Sharing = Dual Profits
Two things happen when the RIAA muscles in and pistol-whips a P2P file sharing program into submission through threats, lawsuits and takeovers:
— First; they immediately convert it into a monetizing P2P program. Now, instead of users downloading music for free, they’re either having to pay for music (using the same software), or switch P2P programs. This is hardly successful, and received with less than favorable reviews. Why it doesn’t work: Existing older versions of the same software are still able to access the P2P network for free. Two well-known examples are BearShare v5.2.5 and Shareaza v2.3.1.0 that still exist and are completely free. BearShare v5.2.5 doesn’t even have a website anymore, yet remains a very popular choice among filesharers - it’s hosted exclusively by software websites like tucows.com and download.com (this is what keeps it alive).
— Second; when they take an “illegal” file sharing program off the market, more users will be forced to start purchasing CDs again. (At least in theory, this is supposed to be their happy ending). Why it doesn’t work: Users just end up switching to a different P2P program to get the files for free. We’ve seen this time and time again - they shut down Napster, everyone flocks to KaZaA. Shut down KaZaA, everyone goes to Limewire (just to name a few). If they manage to shut down Limewire, that’s when low-level filesharers are going to have some problems. Many inexperienced P2P users are loyal to Limewire exclusively, for lack of knowing any other methods available. So owning the Limewire Trophy is important to the RIAA.
RIAA vs. Limewire - The Ongoing Saga
The case of the RIAA vs Limewire (officially known as Arista vs Lime Wire) is far from over. The latest news is that they’re headed back to court on March 31/08, as described in this latest court document.
Expert reports shall be provided by March 31, 2008; rebuttal reports shall be provided by April 30th, 2008; and expert depositions shall be completed by May 31, 2008.
Our Final Thoughts
With the ever-impending takeover of Limewire (both in program and domain), the RIAA stands to make a tidy profit. www.download.com reports over 138 million downloads for Limewire, and more than one-third of all PCs worldwide now have LimeWire installed. Thus there’s bound to be a profit margin due to increased CD sales and online music revenue bolstered through a monetized version of the same software.
However, Average-Joe filesharer is much wiser than he once was, and has had to learn to adapt to changing P2P times. The RIAA has single-handedly taken down Napster, Morpheus, Grokster, KaZaA, eDonkey, iMesh, WinMX, I2Hub, BearShare and now finally it’s Shareaza’s turn. And if you can see into our crystal ball, Limewire will also fall prey.
Limewire’s assimilation into the RIAA Borg won’t make a lick of difference to the P2P community. There will be a new heavyweight to connect to exact same P2P network (Gnutella) that rolls in and fills the vacancy. The RIAA will be back at square one again, just as it’s been at in the past, many times before. P2P will survive. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
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