Audiogalaxy
Encyclopedia
Audiogalaxy is an audio placeshifting service which enables an individual's smartphone
or other device to search & play MP3
and AAC
files stored on that person's separate, Internet-connected computer, with the help of special software installed on both devices. From mid-2002 to mid-2010, Audiogalaxy was a promotional website for the Rhapsody
music subscription service, and from 1998 to 2002, Audiogalaxy was a file sharing
system that indexed MP3
files.
site index called The Borg Search. It quickly evolved into a robust peer-to-peer
system with client software (the Audiogalaxy "Satellite"), a web-based search engine, always-on searching for requested files, auto-resume and low system impact. It quickly gained ground among file sharers abandoning Napster
in 2001. Some observing the previous downfall of Napster via lawsuit were shocked at the design of Audiogalaxy, which was in some ways more centralized than Napster.
Audiogalaxy's stated mission was to facilitate sharing of music, though it was also notable for its strong community due to such features as chat-enabled groups and per-artist internet forum
s. This strong community also facilitated a very broad reach of content across many genres, particular those that tend to remain under-developed in more modern systems.
In June 2008, CNET hailed this incarnation of Audiogalaxy as one of the greatest defunct websites in history.
" by Pink Floyd
were blocked, another track entitled "Wish You Were Here" by "Pink Lloyd" would suddenly appear. The latter file would be completely identical to the former; however, since Audiogalaxy would never have received any notification for "Pink Lloyd," the downloading of that track would not be affected.
On May 9, 2002, Audiogalaxy required songs to be in the sender's shared folder to be sent. Previously, one could send any song to anyone by editing the CGI
parameters. This protection was quickly defeated by creating a "dummy" file in one's shared folder, and sending a song with the same name. This was due to Audiogalaxy's checksum
hashing
, the correct file was always sent despite the dummy. Some of the users could bypass this setting too, but instead of CGI editing there was a less sophisticated solution. A simple .bat file
in sharing folder (with a line "
Even though Audiogalaxy claimed that they were trying to cooperate with the music industry and block copyright
ed songs from their network, many of the network's users continued to share unauthorized copyrighted music files, causing Audiogalaxy to face a lawsuit by the RIAA
on May 24, 2002. On this day, Audiogalaxy blocked sending of all blocked songs. A month later on June 17, 2002, Audiogalaxy reached an out-of-court settlement with the RIAA. The settlement reached would allow Audiogalaxy to operate a "filter-in" system, which required that for any music available, the songwriter, music publisher, and/or recording company must first consent to the use and sharing of the work.
from Listen.com. Audiogalaxy then ended its peer-to-peer operations.
For the next eight years, some of the message boards remained active, but the Audiogalaxy website only promoted the Rhapsody
subscription service and its featured artists. It also briefly promoted the original incarnation of Merhej's FolderShare
project, before that service was acquired by Microsoft.
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
or other device to search & play MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
and AAC
Advanced Audio Coding
Advanced Audio Coding is a standardized, lossy compression and encoding scheme for digital audio. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at similar bit rates....
files stored on that person's separate, Internet-connected computer, with the help of special software installed on both devices. From mid-2002 to mid-2010, Audiogalaxy was a promotional website for the Rhapsody
Rhapsody
Rhapsody may refer to:* Rhapsody , an enthusiastic instrumental composition of indefinite form* A work of epic poetry, or part of one, that is suitable for recitation at one time...
music subscription service, and from 1998 to 2002, Audiogalaxy was a file sharing
File sharing
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
system that indexed MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
files.
History
The original Audiogalaxy system was created in 1998 by Michael Merhej as an FTPFile Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
site index called The Borg Search. It quickly evolved into a robust peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
system with client software (the Audiogalaxy "Satellite"), a web-based search engine, always-on searching for requested files, auto-resume and low system impact. It quickly gained ground among file sharers abandoning Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
in 2001. Some observing the previous downfall of Napster via lawsuit were shocked at the design of Audiogalaxy, which was in some ways more centralized than Napster.
Audiogalaxy's stated mission was to facilitate sharing of music, though it was also notable for its strong community due to such features as chat-enabled groups and per-artist internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
s. This strong community also facilitated a very broad reach of content across many genres, particular those that tend to remain under-developed in more modern systems.
In June 2008, CNET hailed this incarnation of Audiogalaxy as one of the greatest defunct websites in history.
Conflict with RIAA over sharing of copyrighted material
In May 2001, Audiogalaxy implemented "groups" which allowed group members to send songs to everyone in the group. Hackers used this backdoor to circumvent the "blocked songs" restriction, where Audiogalaxy could deny transfer of specific copyrighted songs. In addition, even when a specific file was blocked, it would often be replaced by an identical file with the group or song incorrectly spelled. For example, if "Wish You Were HereWish You Were Here (Pink Floyd song)
"Wish You Were Here" is the title track on Pink Floyd's 1975 album Wish You Were Here. The song's lyrics encompass writer Roger Waters' feelings of alienation from other people. Like most of the album, it refers to former Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett and his breakdown...
" by Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
were blocked, another track entitled "Wish You Were Here" by "Pink Lloyd" would suddenly appear. The latter file would be completely identical to the former; however, since Audiogalaxy would never have received any notification for "Pink Lloyd," the downloading of that track would not be affected.
On May 9, 2002, Audiogalaxy required songs to be in the sender's shared folder to be sent. Previously, one could send any song to anyone by editing the CGI
Common Gateway Interface
The Common Gateway Interface is a standard method for web servers software to delegate the generation of web pages to executable files...
parameters. This protection was quickly defeated by creating a "dummy" file in one's shared folder, and sending a song with the same name. This was due to Audiogalaxy's checksum
Checksum
A checksum or hash sum is a fixed-size datum computed from an arbitrary block of digital data for the purpose of detecting accidental errors that may have been introduced during its transmission or storage. The integrity of the data can be checked at any later time by recomputing the checksum and...
hashing
Hash function
A hash function is any algorithm or subroutine that maps large data sets to smaller data sets, called keys. For example, a single integer can serve as an index to an array...
, the correct file was always sent despite the dummy. Some of the users could bypass this setting too, but instead of CGI editing there was a less sophisticated solution. A simple .bat file
Batch file
In DOS, OS/2, and Microsoft Windows, batch file is the name given to a type of script file, a text file containing a series of commands to be executed by the command interpreter....
in sharing folder (with a line "
move *.mp3 x:\something\" for example) was scheduled at desired time moving all of the MP3 files into desired folder.Even though Audiogalaxy claimed that they were trying to cooperate with the music industry and block copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
ed songs from their network, many of the network's users continued to share unauthorized copyrighted music files, causing Audiogalaxy to face a lawsuit by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
on May 24, 2002. On this day, Audiogalaxy blocked sending of all blocked songs. A month later on June 17, 2002, Audiogalaxy reached an out-of-court settlement with the RIAA. The settlement reached would allow Audiogalaxy to operate a "filter-in" system, which required that for any music available, the songwriter, music publisher, and/or recording company must first consent to the use and sharing of the work.
Rhapsody partnership and end of P2P operations
On September 8, 2002, Audiogalaxy licensed and re-branded a for-pay streaming service called RhapsodyRhapsody (online music service)
Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service, launched in December 2001, and available in the United States only. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody officially declared its independence from RealNetworks. Downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version...
from Listen.com. Audiogalaxy then ended its peer-to-peer operations.
For the next eight years, some of the message boards remained active, but the Audiogalaxy website only promoted the Rhapsody
Rhapsody
Rhapsody may refer to:* Rhapsody , an enthusiastic instrumental composition of indefinite form* A work of epic poetry, or part of one, that is suitable for recitation at one time...
subscription service and its featured artists. It also briefly promoted the original incarnation of Merhej's FolderShare
Windows Live Mesh
Windows Live Mesh is a free-to-use Internet-based file synchronization application by Microsoft that is designed to allow files and folders between two or more computers be in sync with each other on Windows and Mac OS X Windows Live Mesh (formerly known as Live Mesh, Windows Live Sync and...
project, before that service was acquired by Microsoft.
External links
- Audiogalaxy website
- R.I.P Audiogalaxy - Kennon Ballou's story of Audiogalaxy (an Audiogalaxy programmer)
- Tom Kleinpeter's History Of Audiogalaxy
- Austin's onetime file-sharing supernova
- OpenAG - an open-source, Audiogalaxy-compatible satellite/server system