New LimeWire AI-powered music platform uses Polygon, Algorand
Company continues use of blockchain technology to make AI-generated user creations ownable and tradeable
Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal | DAS 2022 by Blockworks
The LimeWire brand, once synonymous with file-sharing in the early 2000s, has morphed into an AI-powered content publishing platform.
In 2021, brothers Julian and Paul Zehetmayr acquired LimeWire’s intellectual property for an undisclosed sum, rebranding it as a blockchain-focused project. Under their ownership, LimeWire has harnessed blockchain technology to realize its updated vision.
The company’s new AI Music Studio lets users create tunes using generative AI tools and subsequently publish them on the same platform, it revealed Tuesday.
LimeWire makes such content ownable and tradeable via blockchain tech, allowing creators to monetize it via an ad-revenue share program.
“All content pieces created in the LimeWire AI Music Studio are minted either on Polygon or on Algorand,” LimeWire co-CEO Julian Zehetmayr told Blockworks in an email. “Creators can simply select which chain they or their communities prefer.”
Brothers Julian and Paul Zehetmayr bought LimeWire’s intellectual property in 2021. The company raised about $10 million in April 2022 — saying at the time its focus was launching a music-focused digital collectibles marketplace as a way “to drastically lower barriers of entry into the world of NFTs.”
LimeWire’s NFT marketplace went live in 2022. Its public LMWR token sale closed in June.
The company’s decision to let creators choose which blockchain to mint content to is consistent with LimeWire’s historical multi-chain approach. LimeWire said in a June 2022 blog post that while the majority of its platform NFTs would be minted on Algorand, it would use the Ethereum blockchain for specific invite-only collections.
LimeWire debuted its creator studio with image generation capabilities in August, noting it would mint content to the Polygon blockchain. It acquired image generation platform BlueWillow the following month.
“As music continues to evolve, so does our dedication to providing aspiring musicians with cutting-edge tools that empower and amplify their artistic expression,” co-CEO Paul Zehetmayr said in a statement.
Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:
- Blockworks Daily: Unpacking crypto and the markets.
- Empire: Crypto news and analysis to start your day.
- Forward Guidance: The intersection of crypto, macro and policy.
- 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox.
- Lightspeed: All things Solana.
- The Drop: Apps, games, memes and more.
- Supply Shock: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.
