Years Active: 2000 – Present
Initially released in 2000, BearShare was a Gnutella-based P2P app that played second fiddle to Morpheus and then Kazaa. In 2006 its parent company, FreePeers, reached a settlement with Capitol Records, Sony-BMG, UMG Recordings and Warner music worth $30 million. BearShare was eventually absorbed by iMesh and released as a Gnutella-free client in 2006, offering paid music downloads and social networking features.
Where Are They Now?
BearShare’s website is still up and touts itself as “the world’s best file sharing service,” though that’s probably disputable.