Grooveshark may not care too much for money, but it could be forced to pay for oldies.
The Gainesville-based company, which allows users to stream and upload music free of charge, is being sued by Universal Music Group for illegally reproducing and distributing copies of songs from Universal’s pre-1972 catalog.
The songs are copyright-protected under New York state law and include hits from popular musicians such as The Jackson 5, Buddy Holly, The Who and Marvin Gaye, all of whom are listed in the lawsuit.
Universal filed the suit in January in a New York state court for an undisclosed amount of money, which will be determined in a trial.
According to the 11-page suit posted on Digitalmusicnews.com, Grooveshark’s business plan “is based on copyright infringement,” and Grooveshark has caused Universal Music Group “irreparable injury that cannot be fully compensated or measured in money damages.”
Graham Murphy, a senior community developer for Grooveshark, said the company declined to comment on the suit.
Universal Music Group could not be reached for comment.
Grooveshark, which is owned by Escape Media Group, Inc., operates as both a music search engine and streaming source. The site runs on a business model of advertising revenue and premium subscription fees.
Lyrissa Lidsky, professor of law at the Levin College of Law and expert in media law, said Grooveshark’s business model makes it very vulnerable to this copyright infringement suit.
“If I were Grooveshark, I’d be worried,” Lidsky said. She said the lawsuit may simply spur negotiations for a special licensing deal between Universal Music Group and Grooveshark.
Grooveshark negotiated a similar deal with Electric and Musical Industries Ltd., a British music company, after EMI sued the company last year.
Under this deal, Grooveshark pays to use music owned by EMI.
