Apr 19, 2011 0
Grooveshark Tells Google to Step Off
The best way for a company to fight back when they’ve felt shafted is to write an open letter and declare to the world that they did nothing wrong. That’s exactly what Grooveshark—an app that allows users to post songs and share them with others, almost like what YouTube does for videos—did when Google removed the app from the Android market.
The Internet behemoth claims Grooveshark was in violation of Google’s policies, which was probably brought on by heat from the Record Industry Association of America.
Grooveshark’s response? Although they admit that they haven’t received licenses from every single label, they say they are totally legit because they comply with laws passed by Congress and operate under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
The app, which boasts more than six million tracks in its catalogue, appears to have a track record when it comes to questionable dealings: Apple also pulled the Grooveshark app from the App Store in August after Apple received a complaint from Universal Music Group UK, and EMI accused it of copyright violations in 2009, a spat that was settled after the company allowed Grooveshark to license its content.
Grooveshark is requesting that both Apple and Google make the app available again, and we are curious to see how this all plays out.
—Mackenzie Allison