SoulSeek

SoulSeek is a file-sharing application used mainly to exchange MP3 or Ogg Vorbis music files. It is unique amongst most of its peer-to-peer application peers, namely Kazaa, in that it is entirely spyware and adware free. It was created by Nir Arbel, a former Napster programmer. Like Napster did, it relies on a central server, which makes it vulnerable to being shut down by legal action. As of September 2004, however, it was still functioning.

Originally, the Soulseek userbase was composed mostly of members of the IDM Mailing List. Therefore, the vast majority of music found on Soulseek was underground electronic music or music produced by the users themselves. However, after Audiogalaxy was shut down, a deluge of former Audiogalaxy faithfuls invaded Soulseek and brought with them corporate music owned by record labels belonging to the RIAA (though Soulseek is still a good place to find underground and independent music, as well as knowledgeable music lovers from anywhere). Since that time, the userbase has grown rapidly, and there are some 60,000 to 70,000 users on at any given time. This may seem relatively small compared to such file sharing programs as Kazaa and Napster, but SoulSeek is more of an underground project and is a smaller server-based p2p program. SoulSeek's server used to have a problem with crashing due to the overload, but this problem has now been rectified. It is rare to see the server crash for an extended period of time.

There are chat rooms set up by users to discuss the various types of files shared over the network. Many rooms cover non-American music (there are several Japanese music rooms, which have spawned a BitTorrent sharing group, and an underground music room that tends to sport the most users) and less-popular music. Some unique features (as of Version 154 Test 5b) include searching for files within a room (which is much more effective than a network search) and setting a ticker. Long time features include a friends list and sharing privileges for said friends.

Many of the original Soulseek users are also music producers. Due to this fact, it was only natural for them to take their community spirit one step further and form a record label. Soulseek Records was formed in 2002, and the website is listed below.