LimeWire Now Legit

6:30 PM -- So LimeWire LLC has decided to join the party.

The peer-to-peer (P2P) filesharing network has finally broken down and announced that it will open an online store and sell legal, DRM-free music. The company has partnered with IRIS Distribution and Nettwerk Productions to provide music from their catalogues, which will be offered in MP3 format.

Of course, the question remains why the company would make such a move. I can't imagine Lime Wire gaining much traction in the market, with competition from iTunes and the like.

And one wonders just how long the company can sustain itself while being sued by the RIAA for approximately $150,000 per song illegally downloaded.

Perhaps most importantly, the pirate-to-legal conversion is a tough one to crack. While Napster is legal, it's hardly successful in relation to other music downloading sites.

But then, I guess only time will tell.

— Ryan Lawler, P2P Proselytizer, Light Reading