Another one bites the dust!

April 6, 2005 9:47 PM

Easytree.org has been shutdown. Easytree, for those unfamiliar, was a tracker site for legal (apparently not) live music and video bit torrents, similar to Archive.org's Live Music collaboration with etree.org. Other discussions of File-sharing on MeFi (specifically the MGM vs. Grokster SCOTUS case) here and here. [more inside]
posted by schyler523 (22 comments total)

Good news for Ween Fans though. Browntracker, a tracker specifically for Ween audio and video, is up and running. Those not fond of Ween, can visit The Trader's Den, though it seems as if that site is on it's last legs as well.
posted by schyler523 at 9:54 PM on April 6, 2005

Those wary of Bit Torrent can try FurthurNet.
posted by schyler523 at 9:56 PM on April 6, 2005

Noooo!!!
posted by Quartermass at 10:08 PM on April 6, 2005

I too cut the heads off hydras.
posted by sien at 10:19 PM on April 6, 2005

This is kind of a let down, especially after Sharing the Groove went down. I know some people didn't care for STG, but I loved the dvd torrents and the mix of music.

...and now Easytree is down? *sigh* What is the world coming to?

Ok people, spill your guts! Where are your favorite sites?
posted by kuatto at 10:34 PM on April 6, 2005

I recently bookmarked Top 10 Bittorrent Sites and yotoshi, the bittorrent search engine if those help anyone.
posted by cali at 10:44 PM on April 6, 2005

Well, there goes largehearted boy.
posted by Doug at 11:38 PM on April 6, 2005

Shut down or bought out? There's a big difference.
posted by sjvilla79 at 1:06 AM on April 7, 2005

I am not sure who would be responsible for the cease and desist letter. It is usually the bands themselves that own the copyright, not some recording company. Most bands don't seem to care that their concerts are traded. It's not like they are trading commercially released albums. The site took some pains to keep that sort of stuff away. This is typically material that otherwise would not be available. Oh, and we are talking shut down, not bought out.
posted by caddis at 4:25 AM on April 7, 2005

sigh... I was huge up/downloader there. Besides the pains to keep illegal stuff off their site, Easytree really did its best to control the sound quality of shows offered. There was a feeling of community there.

I curse the powers that fuck with such.
posted by LouReedsSon at 5:01 AM on April 7, 2005

It is usually the bands themselves that own the copyright, not some recording company.

There's some technicality about the song publishers. Whether it's a valid technicality or not, I don't know. But it would take resources that song traders don't generally have to challenge it. The Clash bootleg download site that I used to frequent ("If Music Could Talk") was shut down by copyright holders-- the issue was the use of the songs, not the actual files (if that makes any sense). And I'm inclined to believe that the legal forces weren't de facto representing Mick Jones or the Strummer estate-- both men are on record as being proponents of file trading.
posted by Mayor Curley at 5:26 AM on April 7, 2005

One word: exeem
posted by LunaticFringe at 6:42 AM on April 7, 2005

One word: exeem

Two words: exeem lite

(haven't used either myself, heard the network is kinda sucky for the sort of stuff I'm looking for)
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 6:51 AM on April 7, 2005

Gah -- I'd picked up a number of fine field recordings of His Bobness there. On to the next...
posted by docgonzo at 9:20 AM on April 7, 2005

I wish there was more info. Do they think they were legal or what?
posted by smackfu at 9:43 AM on April 7, 2005

LouReedson, It shocked me too, I had just gotten my ratio past 2.00...I thought that easytree had more solid footing than your average torrent tracker site...

So, do you all think that eXeem is the future, the best of both worlds? It is decentralized, negating the need for tracker sites. I've downloaded it, will give it a try...

It looks like I am able to finish any download I started on easytree before the trackers were killed. Just no new seeders or leechers...stuck in this sad stasis.

On preview: Smackfu, i thought that they were fairly diligent about removing commercial or otherwise "untradable" files...
posted by schyler523 at 9:49 AM on April 7, 2005

It looks like I am able to finish any download I started on easytree before the trackers were killed.

You probably already know this, but just in case:

DO NOT CLOSE YOUR CLIENT BEFORE THESE DOWNLOADS FINISH. Now that the trackers are down, you will not be able to reconnect to any of the seeds that are out there.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 9:52 AM on April 7, 2005

I have no plans to shutdown my client...I happen to be downloading three very large Ween videos (8.65GB each) and do not want to lose them, as they are not yet on Browntracker...

Anyone use azureus' host option? As i understand it you turn a hosted torrent into a seed/tracker by revealing your IP to each downloader...feasible among friends, less so to the public...
posted by schyler523 at 10:07 AM on April 7, 2005

eXeem doesn't appeal to me... Try bt.etree.org or The Traders Den. Beyond that, I don't know much. But I still praise the gods of bittorrent till the end! :)
posted by LouReedsSon at 4:29 PM on April 7, 2005

dimeadozen.org
It's going to be hard to kill this movement. code moves fast, laywers don't.
posted by Gankmore at 3:18 PM on April 8, 2005

er dimeadozen.org. It's a new URL, afterall.
posted by Gankmore at 3:21 PM on April 8, 2005

This is like Easter for me...
posted by schyler523 at 2:24 AM on April 9, 2005