For some reason, while Napster was able to keep a business going and switch business models in a fairly short period of time, the public simply didn't take to the idea of Kazaa as a storefront. The legal download store only ended up lasted a few years, and unlike other marketplaces for music, it never really took off. Back in 2006 when Kazaa first attempted its more respectable launch, paid downloads were growing, and Napster and iTunes were selling plenty of songs and albums to consumers, and it seemed as if that format would be the saving grace of the music industry, which Kazaa had spent years hurting. When all was said and done, Kazaa ended up having to pay about $100 million in damages to the music industry, and it quickly tried to keep the name going by transitioning to a legitimate service. Many of these students were threatened with a penalty of around $750 per song, which can add up incredibly quickly, though it appears that the RIAA was willing to settle with many for around $3,000. In fact, one source claims that up to 30,000 people in America were sued at one time for illegally downloading music, with the RIAA specifically targeting colleges and universities, as there were many young people who loved music and who were acquiring their favorites for free. What started as a small initiative that saw some unfortunate music fans owing between thousands, and sometimes even millions, of dollars to the industry quickly escalated, and before it was over, thousands were sued. The downfall of Kazaa is notable, as it saw organizations that are part of the music industry, such as the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) also sue individual users who had been doing the filesharing, in addition to the service itself.
Sure, the issue of ownership, responsibility and technology's place in today's world were all looked at differently, but the outcome of these court battles were roughly the same as when Napster and Limewire went through the same type of experience. Lawsuits from music industry bodies and companies in several different countries quickly followed Kazaa's push to the mainstream, and while the platform's (and the companies that had control over it, which varied depending on the time) lost many decisions, by this time, the industry had already been through this all before. Having said that, those who backed the company, which was almost always owned by other companies and not just a few tech-focused creators, obviously felt they had some standing to launch their new product, and they fought the legal battles that came their way. Kazaa wasn’t even properly introduced until sites like Napster had already gone through their legal issues and lost, so it was starting from a position where it was all but guaranteed to lose as well.
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