EMI sues Grooveshark over unpaid royalties

It would seem music streaming website Grooveshark has run out of friends in the recording industry. EMI, the only record label for which it has an agreement, has begun legal action over unpaid royalties. Grooveshark is already defending actions by Sony, Warner and Universal over its streaming of music without rightsholder consent.

Similar services struck deals with record labels on a ‘pay-per-stream’ basis, but the major labels have adopted a more aggressive stance with Grooveshark – possibly as it is not limited to specific territories. Spotify, for example, operates on a subscription model and pays royalties on a ‘per stream’ basis.

According to a report in the New York Times, EMI claims it has not received any royalties from the website’s parent company, Escape Media Group, since a deal was signed in 2009. EMI claims a total of $150,000 dollars is due.

If Escape Media Group can’t meet its obligations it could well be the end for Grooveshark, or at the minimum the relocation of its servers to a more sympathetic territory, China perhaps. 

TechCentral Reporters

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