Herman+A+Strategy+Report

Herman A

TO: Proximity music team FROM: Andrea Herman SUBJECT: LimeWire Strategy Report DATE: Feb 26, 2009

Below I will provide a strategy report for LimeWire starting with an overview of the company, a description of its competitive landscape, their strategy to keep up with these competitors, and finally LimeWire’s implications for Gen Y.

LimeWire was developed by LimeWire LLC, which is a subsidiary of Lime Group. Founded in 2000 by CEO Mark Gorton, LimeWire is the world's most popular peer-to-peer file-sharing program. With over 50 million unique monthly users, the software is downloaded hundreds of thousands of times every day and boasts millions of active users at any given moment (LimeWire).
 * Profile**

LimeWire uses the BitTorrent protocol and the Gnutella network to provide unparalleled searches and download speed to the user. There are a few different options of LimeWire offered; Basic, Pro, and Extended Pro, each with increased speed and search results, respectively. The software is supported by Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems. Recently the company launched the LimeWire Store, a digital media store, and are working on a number of projects to help further connect LimeWire's peer-to-peer community (LimeWire).

LimeWire’s main competitors consist of other popular peer to peer file sharing programs and of course iTunes. As mentioned, LimeWire uses the Gnutella network and BitTorrent protocols to provide their service. However, the BitTorrent network has been gaining popularity because it is very efficient especially for large files. But the Gnutella network, to which LimeWire users connect, also remains the most popular, with 40.5% of the market (Computerworld).
 * Competitive Landscape**

BitTorrent client, (not to be confused with the BitTorrent network) is currently LimeWire’s biggest threat because it is one of best, fastest, safe and widely used peer to peer programs. LimeWire has also been forked; a project fork happens when developers take a copy of source code from one software package and start independent development on it, creating a distinct piece of software (Wikipedia). One of the more popular forks is called FrostWire. It has very similar features to LimeWire, but with iTunes integration. Probably a good call because iTunes is here to stay, so may as well support it.

LimeWire’s business strategy seems to be similar to the early Napster, because as you may know Napster was purchased by Best Buy and is completely legal now. LimeWire has to dodge trouble to provide the sharing of its library without full copyright rights. According to an article by Eric Lai from Computerworld, “Like Napster, LimeWire has faced several lawsuits from music companies and the RIAA -- though unlike the former, LimeWire has survived them all without a major shutdown.” In 2008, LimeWire decided to go at least partly legal. It launched a beta version of the LimeWire Store where users can buy music online, similar to Apple Inc.'s iTunes store. Unlike iTunes, however, the LimeWire Store sells its music without DRM copyright restrictions (Computerworld).
 * Limewire’s Strategy**

LimeWire has and will continue to directly appeal to Gen Y because the generation has grown accustomed to getting their music for free. I believe LimeWire will maintain or gain popularity even with iTunes being so prevalent, especially if the economy worsens or does not bounce back in the near future. The bottom line is LimeWire offers music for free and Gen Y wants everything easier, faster, and cheaper.
 * Gen Y Implications**

//Wikipedia//. (2010, February 25). LimeWire. Retrieved Feb. 26, 2010 from []
 * References**

Lai, Eric. (2008, April 17) LimeWire Still Top P2P Software; UTorrent #2. //ComputerWorld//. Retrieved Feb. 26, 2010 from []

//Wikipedia//. (2010, February 27). File Sharing. Retrieved Feb. 28, 2010 from []

LimeWire Official Website. []

BitTorrent Official Website. []