Justin Kahn
Posts: 752 +6
Grooveshark is expected to announce that it has signed a licensing agreement with EMI Music Publishing, according to The Verge. This comes after EMI accused the music streaming service of copyright violations in September of last year.
Grooveshark has been in what seems like a constant stream of on-going legal battles with major record companies. Time and again, it has signed deals with major publishers and later violated them. The controversial music service allows users to post songs for others to listen to that are often times pirated files, causing a break down in the system and controversy with rights-holders.
With at least 2 more major lawsuits to deal with, in what can only be assumed as an on-going trend, the fact that the company is still a float is a surprise.
Although Grooveshark seems to be defying all odds, it appears as though the constant legal battles and tough competition are beginning to wear the company out. Reports say the staff is being dramatically reduced and that the company is struggling to stay competitive with the likes of Pandora and Spotify. Both companies have a massive growing user base, and even they struggle to balance the high cost of content licensing fees.
Its troubles don't stop there, just last month the company was added to Google's infamous autocomplete blacklist. Grooveshark joins the ranks of sites like The Pirate Bay and other arguably shady networks.
