Review of 2005
p2p news / p2pnet: The first of the Year That Was posts has shown up. From CNET News, a highlight of 2005 was when “Napster’s ‘rental’ music” took on iTunes and, “The company is putting $30 million in marketing behind a new Microsoft-backed portable subscription service. (February 3, 2005)
That’s a highlight?
Others include:
Music moguls trumped by Steve Jobs?
The dominance of iTunes and iPod has some recording industry leaders questioning their download deal with Apple.
April 15, 2005
Yahoo takes on iTunes with new music service
Community, music-sharing are key in new subscription plan that deeply undercuts rivals’ prices.
May 10, 2005Digital music is going mobile
While the iTunes phone plays a waiting game, cell phone networks are building their own download stores.
July 26, 2005
Supreme Court rules against file swapping
In unanimous decision, justices say Grokster and others could be held responsible for widespread copyright infringement.
June 27, 2005
How label-backed P2P was born
A look at how top record label and P2P execs worked for a cease-fire–and wound up with a new kind of digital music service.
August 22, 2005
Rokr iTunes phone, iPod Nano unveiled
iPod Nano, which is 80 percent smaller than the original iPod, and the iTunes-enabled cell phone are unveiled in San Francisco.
September 7, 2005
Real, Microsoft reach truce
Long-running antitrust suit against software giant ends in $460 million deal, with millions more to come in partnership efforts.
October 11, 2005
Apple cuts the TV out of TV programming
iTunes TV foray likely to change media distribution. But it could be a harder business than music.
October 12, 2005
Legal P2P opens for business
iMesh relaunches as the first formerly unregulated peer-to-peer network to turn itself into a paid music service.
October 24, 2005
Sony CD protection sparks security concerns
Anticopying tools used by SonyBMG could be adapted by virus writers, researchers say.
November 1, 2005
Last waltz for Grokster
File-swap stalwart to pull plug on P2P network, hand $50 million in damages to studios, labels, publishers.
November 7, 2005
Google whistles a new tune
New feature on search site designed to help people find lyrics, bands and CDs. One thing it’s not: a music store.
December 15, 2005
There’s not a mention of the on-going music industry marketing farce under which Sony BMG, Vivendi Universal, Warner Music and EMI claim they’re winning the so-called ‘war’ against p2p file sharers when in fact more and more people are turning to the p2pnets almost by the minute.
The fact that the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is still going after children in its sue ‘em all campaign (stay tuned on this one) is by-passed completely.
Do you think the CNET run-down is an accurate representation of the year that’s on its way out?
No? Then what should have been on it?
Watch this space





December 20th, 2005 at 2:13 pm
Not one mention of i2hub using the Internet2 backbone.
December 20th, 2005 at 2:39 pm
wot about all the stuff happening with Kazaa in Australia?
December 20th, 2005 at 3:03 pm
This is more of an Apple advertisement than a roundup
me from there