Music store Wippet, which once blazed a trail in legal P2P, has shut down. Distorted Loop quotes a spokesperson as saying: “Wippit finally succumbed to tough market conditions and the changing landscape in the retail market.”
Launched in 2001 by Paul Myers, Wippit first offered all-you-can-eat music via its legal P2P network for £30 per year – a paradigm that disappeared from view and has now come full circle with Qtrax having already launched the concept and Playlouder near to an ISP deal. Wippit later expanded to individual track retailing, picked up licenses from EMI and Warner, and garnered white label deals with easyJet, Tesco and Daily Star. It retailed DRM-free tracks years earlier than the majors, which only started doing so last year.
Wippit’s spokesperson continued: