What Happened to Kazaa - VideoProc (2024)

Kazaa, founded in 2001, was a popular peer-to-peer file-sharing application that allowed users to share various types of digital content, including music, video files, software applications, e-books, and text files. Originally stylized as "KaZaA", the application is commonly referred to as "Kazaa". Its desktop client was named Kazza Media Desktop, aka KMD.

Quick Facts About Kazaa

Official Website: www.kazaa.com

Owned by: Consumer Empowerment, Sharman Networks, Atrinsic

Founded: March, 2001

Founders and Key People: Jaan Tallinn, Janus Friis, Niklas Zennström

Shutdown: August, 2012

Pronounced as: "ka-ZAH"

What Happened to Kazaa - VideoProc (1)

Initially, Kazaa operated as a P2P file-sharing platform, gaining popularity in the early 2000s. Due to legal challenges, Kazaa faced legal troubles and eventually pivoted into a legitimate licensed subscription service in 2010. While Kazaa enjoyed its moment in the spotlight, it ceased its operations in August 2012.

The History of Kazaa

Kazaa was built with FastTrack protocol, a peer-to-peer (P2P) communications technology that also served iMesh, Grokster, and Morpheus file-sharing programs. FastTrack was a widely known project built by the BlueMoon team, headed by Jaan Tallinn, an Estonian billionaire computer programmer. The team later joined Niklas Zennström from Sweden and Janus Friis from Denmark, and introduced Kazaa in March 2001, under the name of Consumer Empowerment, a Dutch-based company.

What Happened to Kazaa - VideoProc (2)

It's worth noting that Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis were also the key figures behind Skype and Rdio, an online music streaming service that was active during 2008-2015.

Kazaa and FastTrack were born shortly before Napster – the first generation of P2P networks – shut down in July of that year.

According to BBC News, the Kazaa website boasted more than four million simultaneous users at its peak times, and the desktop software had been downloaded a staggering 239 million times.

In 2002, many users found the Kazaa was bundled with adware, probably as a means for monetization. The spyware was accused of modifying users' browser settings - such as the home page and 404 error page, inserting advertising toolbars, and capturing browsing data.

In response to these issues, unofficial versions of Kazaa emerged, aiming to maintain the functionality of the software while removing all associated malware. Kazaa Lite is the most prominent alternative, it was so popular and even surpassed the official client in terms of user adoption.

In April 2004, CNET's download hub terminated the distribution of the Kazaa.

During its entire life circle, Kazaa faced significant financial penalties due to copyright infringement concerns. The lawsuits tarnished its reputation and affected Kazaa's viability as a business.

Facing the Music: Legal Troubles of Kazaa

During the early 2000s, Sharman Networks faced lawsuits by the Buma/Stemra, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), the ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association), and the UMA (Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd).

In 2001, the Dutch music publishing body Buma/Stemra initiated legal action against Consumer Empowerment, the original company behind Kazaa. The court ruled that Kazaa's owners must take measures to prevent copyright infringement.

In October 2001, the RIAA and the MPAA filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Kazaa in a federal court in Los Angeles. This lawsuit also included StreamCast Networks (owner of Morpheus) and Grokster, two other major file-swapping companies.

The legal proceedings forced an offshoring of the company, Sharman Networks. It was headquartered in Australia and organized in the offshore jurisdiction of the Republic of Vanuatu, a small island in the South Pacific. Meanwhile, Blastoise, the operator of FastTrack was hosted in another tax haven, a small British-owned island.

Escalated Legal Challenges for Kazaa and Sharman Networks

Following the transfer of Kazza's key assets to Sharman Networks, legal challenges escalated. Various music industry associations and copyright holders pursued lawsuits against Kazaa for facilitating copyright infringement.

In a significant development, a US federal judge ruled that the RIAA and the MPAA can expand the ongoing copyright suit to include this new owner, Sharman Networks. Still, many in the legal community believed that the case was the best chance to establish a legal defense for peer-to-peer technology.

Sharman Networks also expressed confidence in their position, stating that they believed the distribution of the Kazaa Media Desktop was not only legal but also crucial for the future of P2P. They were optimistic that the court would vindicate their legal stance.

Unlike Napster which maintains a central server that helps link file swappers, Sharman, StreamCast and Grokster simply distribute the software used by file traders. They contend that this should shield them from legal liability.

In September 2003, the RIAA filed lawsuits against over 250 individuals, accusing them of illegally distributing about 1,000 copyright music files each, using P2P networks. RIAA sought an average compensation of $3,000 per case.

Cary Sherman, president of the RIAA, claimed that the criterion of the legal action was the number of files being uploaded and shared. RIAA was presenting the five major music labels: Universal Music Group, Sony Music, BMG, EMI, and Warner Music. Sharman Networks countersued, alleging RIAA's violation of Kazaa's terms of use – the former performed the investigation using Kazaa Lite, an unofficial copy.

Kazaa Updated Its Services

Amid the legal battles, Sharman Networks released Kazaa 2.0. This version allows users to download groups of songs as a single item, conduct web searches within the program, and includes a rating feature to avoid downloading corrupted files.

What Happened to Kazaa - VideoProc (3)

In August, 2003, Sharman Networks and Avalon Online Distribution (AOD) published Kazaa Plus, a $29.95 premium version that offers an ad-free experience, improved search capabilities, and increased download sources. The certified version was exclusively available on www.kazaaplus.com and CNET's downloading hub.

What Happened to Kazaa - VideoProc (4)

Lawsuits in Australia

In February 2004, the Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI), a division of the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), took legal action against Kazaa. They alleged massive copyright breaches. Later in September, 2005, UMA v. Sharman ruled that the Kazaa network had violated copyright laws in Australia, as the file-swapping program encouraged users to breach copyright. Kazaa was given a two-month deadline to modify their website to prevent further piracy.

The $100 Million Settlement

In July 2006, the MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. caused Sharman to settle for $100 million, the amount to compensate the loss of four major music labels – EMI, Sony BMG, Universal Music, and Warner Music. The company also agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to the studios in the industry.

What Then Happened to Kazaa

In Oct. 2010, Kazaa was acquired by Atrinsic, a company that specializes in online advertising and offers subscription products directly to consumers. According to the agreement, Brilliant Digital (the owner of Kazaa at that time) will receive 7.1 million shares of Atrinsic's stock. Brilliant Digital will also maintain ownership of 20% of the profits generated by Kazaa.

In March 2011, Atrinsic launches Kazaa app for the iPad. The app grants subscribers the ability to enjoy unlimited music tracks with a $10 monthly subscription. During the initial week of usage, users can download songs without any charge. Atrinsic shares were up from $3.29 to $3.75 on Nasdaq after the announcement.

In August 2012, the Kazaa website was no longer active.

In fact, the gradual decline of Kazaa began in the mid-2000s, primarily due to the legal battles it faced. As the platform implemented stricter measures to combat copyright infringement, many users migrated to other file-sharing platforms that were less restricted. Meanwhile, the rise of legal streaming services such as iTunes, Spotify, and Netflix further compounded Kazaa's demise.

What Happened to Kazaa - VideoProc (2024)

FAQs

Is Kazaa still available? ›

Kazaa is no longer in use and its website shut down in 2012.

Why was Kazaa shut down? ›

Due to legal challenges, Kazaa faced legal troubles and eventually pivoted into a legitimate licensed subscription service in 2010. While Kazaa enjoyed its moment in the spotlight, it ceased its operations in August 2012.

Is Kazaa illegal? ›

SINGAPORE — An Australian court ruled on Monday that the popular file-sharing network Kazaa violates Australian music copyrights and ordered the company to modify its software to help prevent copyright infringement.

Who owned Kazaa? ›

The court ruled six defendants—including Kazaa's owners Sharman Networks, Sharman's Sydney-based boss Nikki Hemming and associate Kevin Bermeister—had knowingly allowed Kazaa users illegally to swap copyrighted songs.

What killed LimeWire? ›

The major battle between the service and the music industry took place between 2006 and 2010, when a New York court ruled in the favor of the record labels (fronted by Arista Records this time around) and the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), forcing Limewire to finally shutter in 2010.

What took over for LimeWire? ›

Following LimeWire's closure, several alternatives sprang up to fill the void. FrostWire aimed to be a LimeWire replacement with a similar interface. BitTorrent clients like uTorrent gained further popularity.

How many people used KaZaA? ›

At the height of Kazaa there were 5–6 million users online at any one time and climbing. But it was already dead. The legal case against the company had done the job it had set out to do.

Why was LimeWire illegal? ›

Napster and LimeWire were some of the earliest music-sharing applications that did not obtain proper permissions to use licensed music. Users were able to download and share copyright-protected music without permission. All commercially produced music is copyright protected.

Is Napster still around? ›

Best Buy later purchased the service and merged it with its Rhapsody streaming service on December 1, 2011. In 2016, the original branding was restored when Rhapsody was renamed Napster. In 2022, the Napster streaming service was acquired by two Web3 companies, Hivemind and Algorand.

Is it wrong to illegally download music using P2P software such as BitTorrent and KaZaA? ›

There are many risks associated with using P2P file sharing networks, including severe criminal and civil penalties from exposure to copyright law infringement.

Does BearShare still exist? ›

As of June 12, 2016, BearShare is no longer available to download. The official page with a message announcing its discontinuation remained active until March 2017.

Does Kazaa still work? ›

For some reason, while Napster was able to keep a business going and switch business models in a fairly short period of time, the public simply didn't take to the idea of Kazaa as a storefront. A few years after transitioning, the company went under and quietly disappeared, and now the website remains completely blank.

What is the new Kazaa? ›

The new Kazaa allows you to download groups of songs as a single item, search the Web from within the program, and includes a new rating feature that keeps you from downloading corrupt files--a move that counters efforts by record companies and movie studios to dilute networks with subpar records.

Why did LimeWire shut down? ›

The controversial service was shut down back in 2010, after a lengthy legal battle with the Recording Industry Association of America over allegations of music piracy. A federal judge found the platform caused copyright infringement on a "massive scale."

Do they still have LimeWire? ›

LimeWire's name was revived in 2022 for an unrelated music-based NFT platform, an action with which Gorton expressed displeasure. The NFT marketplace was launched in July 2022, with the first NFT collection from American record producer and rapper 7 Aurelius.

How many people used Kazaa? ›

At the height of Kazaa there were 5–6 million users online at any one time and climbing. But it was already dead. The legal case against the company had done the job it had set out to do.

Did anyone go to jail for LimeWire? ›

No. Copyright infringement is mostly a civil matter, not criminal. You could be sued, and many were.

Will LimeWire ever come back? ›

The new LimeWire co-creators, Julian and Paul Zehetmayr, began LimeWire's reawakening in 2021 and rebranded it to become a block-chain focused project. The brand launched an AI music generator in December 2023, which allows users to create AI tracks.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Patricia Veum II

Last Updated:

Views: 5833

Rating: 4.3 / 5 (64 voted)

Reviews: 95% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Patricia Veum II

Birthday: 1994-12-16

Address: 2064 Little Summit, Goldieton, MS 97651-0862

Phone: +6873952696715

Job: Principal Officer

Hobby: Rafting, Cabaret, Candle making, Jigsaw puzzles, Inline skating, Magic, Graffiti

Introduction: My name is Patricia Veum II, I am a vast, combative, smiling, famous, inexpensive, zealous, sparkling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.