Audio galaxy
Audiogalaxy was a file sharing network, especially for audio files . The operators shut down the servers in 2002 after they were sued by the RIAA .
functionality
Audiogalaxy was a music exchange with a web interface . After registering with this service for free, each user still had to download the Audiogalaxy Satellite . This small (about 800 kB ) program ran in the background and provided the connection to the central server of the network . In order to be able to exchange music, the individual user went to the Audiogalaxy website and used the search mask there to search for artists or individual pieces of music. A list of available titles matching the search entry and their bit rate was then displayed. If you wanted to download a certain piece, you clicked on an icon next to the piece in question. It was then added to the queue of requested MP3 files. If the song was then available in the sense that it was offered online by another user, you could follow the progress of the automatically started download process in the Audiogalaxy Satellite . Aborted downloads could be continued at a later point in time and also from other sources.
An essential feature that made Audiogalaxy unique at the time were links to other songs and artists that were additionally offered for each search result and were downloaded by users with the same interest in music. This system enabled the user to discover other possibly unknown bands and to broaden his musical horizons.
The structure of Audiogalaxy with a central server meant that the music industry was able to sue the service in 2002 and finally force it to close temporarily.
History of Audiogalaxy
Audiogalaxy was founded by the programmer Michael Merhej around the time when the music exchange platform Napster was sued by the music industry in 2001 and had to cease operations as a result. Audiogalaxy was also very popular among former Napster users, but the fear quickly arose that Audiogalaxy could suffer a similar end due to its central server.
The company was initially able to generate income from advertisements on the website, which in its heyday recorded up to 90 million page views per day. When ad revenue fell sharply, Audiogalaxy began making money through spyware . In doing so, the user always had the option of deciding whether or not to install the spyware, which was supplied as a bundle with the actual software.
In May 2001, led Audiogalaxy so-called user groups (dt. User groups ) that could exchange within which users music. These user groups continued to function for some time after the central search input was blocked. Even after the official closure of Audiogalaxy , resourceful users exchanged MP3 tracks within the groups. At the moment, it is no longer possible to exchange music within the user groups because the Audiogalaxy Satellite can no longer establish a connection to the central server.
From May to June 2002, Audiogalaxy tried to come to an out-of-court settlement with the music industry. As a first concession, Audiogalaxy introduced several restrictions on music exchange, for example the search for certain artists was prevented. However, since these measures were all bridged by the users within a short time and Audiogalaxy was not interested in a further mutual cooperation with the music industry , Audiogalaxy had to cease operations for the time being.
Since September 2002, a species is on demand - radio of Audiogalaxy named Rhapsody offered. This is a paid service that is no longer based on the web-based audio galaxy. Users can now request pieces of music, which are then transmitted as a stream in the form of a web radio.
After the official closure of Audiogalaxy , there were various attempts to imitate the web-based system. GLT Poliane and Mediaseek are based on a similar background and also on a central server , but these are apparently no longer being developed. Since the source code of Audiogalaxy was never released, however, and not least because the successors did not have the same conditions, they have not been able to establish themselves in the masses to this day.
With the end of Audiogalaxy, the programmer Martin Rieder started a project to develop a freely available server based on the Audiogalaxy system. The first versions of this OpenAG server have already been presented on its website for the Linux operating system . Nevertheless, the project is still going on due to the limited resources available to the developer.
In 2010 Audiogalaxy became its own service again, this time as a placeshifting service. Since December 12, 2012, registrations are no longer accepted because Audiogalaxy was taken over by Dropbox . The service was discontinued on January 31, 2013.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hello, Dropbox ( Memento of the original from January 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (December 13, 2012).
- ↑ Audiogalaxy: Dropbox becomes provider for music in the cloud (December 13, 2012).
- ↑ https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Audiogalaxy-stellen-eigenen-Service-ein-1774737.html
