Audiogalaxy

Release: 1998

History:  Michael Merhej released the MP3 indexing system, Audio Galaxy, in 1998.  As people abandoned Napster in 2001, Audiogalaxy picked up steam.  By June 2002, Audiogalaxy shutdown its operations.  By September, Audiogalaxy rebranded itself into a for-pay music service called Rhapsody.  A company called RealNetworks runs Rhapsody’s services today.

Function & Technologies:  Audiogalaxy functioned as a MP3 peer-to-peer system.  They coined the name “Satellite” for this system.  It featured a web-based search engine where users could request certain MP3 files.  The interface included chat-enabled groups and per-artist internet forums.  Audiogalaxy was known for having a wide breadth of genres, including less popular artists.

Types of Files Exchanged:  MP3s

Availability: Only available as a for-pay service through Rhapsody.com