GROOVESHARK TIMELINE
The Labels v Grooveshark Timeline
Follow CMU’s coverage of the labels’ legal battle against Grooveshark | CLICK for more timelines
EMI’S FIRST LAWSUIT AGAINST GROOVESHARK
June 2009
• EMI sues Grooveshark
October 2009
• EMI does deal with Grooveshark, drops lawsuit
UNIVERSAL’S FIRST LAWSUIT AGAINST GROOVESHARK
January 2010
• Universal sues Grooveshark
• Interesting insight into Universal’s Grooveshark lawsuit
July 2010
• Grooveshark wins stage one of Universal legal spat
September 2010
• Does Universal really want Grooveshark to go under?
April 2011
• Grooveshark exec denies the streaming music service is illegal
September 2011
• EMI returns to MP3tunes case – Grooveshark case implications
November 2011
• EMI v MP3tunes ruling might impact on Universal’s Grooveshark litigation
July 2012
• Universal’s pre-1972 technicality fails in ongoing Grooveshark battle
January 2013
• Universal has another go at targeting Grooveshark
April 2013
• Appeals court overturns Grooveshark’s win in pre-1972 technicality lawsuit
September 2014
• Universal pushes for summary judgement in Grooveshark pre-1972 case
OTHER DISPUTES BETWEEN GROOVESHARK & RIGHTS OWNERS
August 2010
• Grooveshark settles with Merlin
July 2011
• Grooveshark sued by US publishers
November 2011
• Danish rights groups call on ISPs to block Grooveshark
January 2012
• Grooveshark withdraws from Germany over alleged GEMA dispute
February 2012
• Danish courts issue web-block injunction against Grooveshark
April 2012
• TuneCore boss hits out at Grooveshark
May 2013
• BPI to call on courts to block Grooveshark
November 2013
• UK industry may seek a web-block injunction against Grooveshark
DOES AMERICA’S DMCA PROTECT GROOVESHARK?
April 2011
• Grooveshark exec denies the streaming music service is illegal
November 2011
• RIAA increasingly unhappy with DMCA
• DMCA safe harbour provisions raised in SOPA debate
December 2011
• Universal loses Veoh lawsuit at appeal
WHAT IS GROOVESHARK’S BUSINESS PLAN?
July 2011
• Grooveshark chief says artist development a priority
November 2011
• Grooveshark emails on label deals – "it’s easier to ask for forgiveness later"
UNIVERSAL’S SECOND LAWSUIT AGAINST GROOVESHARK
November 2011
• Universal sues Grooveshark again, says Groovesharkers themselves upload
• Grooveshark responds to Universal lawsuit
• Grooveshark emails on label deals – "it’s easier to ask for forgiveness later"
December 2011
• Warner and Sony join Universal’s Grooveshark lawsuit
March 2012
• Grooveshark calls for Universal lawsuit to be dismissed
May 2013
• Grooveshark employees taken off major label lawsuit
February 2014
• Labels accuse Grooveshark of evidence tampering
THE DIGITAL MUSIC NEWS COMMENT
January 2012
• Grooveshark demands information from Digital Music News
• DMN responds to Grooveshark subpoena and other claims
April 2012
• Digital Music News remains critical of Grooveshark’s subpoena
July 2012
• Grooveshark reduces data demands on Digital Music News
May 2014
• Digital Music News does not have to reveal commentator’s identity
EMI’S SECOND & THIRD LAWSUITS AGAINST GROOVESHARK
January 2012
• EMI sues Grooveshark
April 2012
• EMI terminates deal with Grooveshark
September 2012
• EMI sues Grooveshark… again
NEW DEALS WITH PUBLISHERS
August 2013
• Grooveshark close to deal with EMI Music Publishing
• Grooveshark settles with EMI Music Publishing, signs new licensing deal
• Grooveshark announces deal with Sony/ATV
GROOVESHARK’S APP, SEARCH & SOCIAL CHALLENGES
July 2009
• Grooveshark prepares iPhone app
March 2010
• Grooveshark makes app available for jail-broken iPhones
August 2010
• Grooveshark iPhone app approved
• Grooveshark app removed by Apple after Universal complaint
April 2011
• Android evicts Grooveshark from app store
January 2012
• Grooveshark launches HTML5 app to circumvent app store bans
May 2012
• Grooveshark disappears from Facebook
• Grooveshark off Facebook because of copyright complaint
• Grooveshark says it’s back on Facebook
August 2012
• Grooveshark app returns to Android store
September 2012
• Grooveshark app pulled from Google store again
July 2013
• Google adds Grooveshark to autocomplete blacklist
September 2014
• Grooveshark removed from Chromecast
THE EVOLUTION OF GROOVESHARK
July 2012
• Investment man interested in buying Grooveshark, making it legit
October 2012
• Grooveshark to launch monetised artist profiles
April 2013
• Grooveshark launches “democratised radio platform”
November 2014
• Grooveshark to use streaming data to book live events
• Grooveshark not impressed with Daniel Ek’s ‘piracy’ jibe
December 2014
• Grooveshark launches ‘radio’ app licensed via SoundExchange
March 2015
• Grooveshark revamps
THE BEGINNING OF THE END
September 2014
• Grooveshark dealt a blow in label lawsuit number two
October 2014
• Grooveshark responds to ruling in Universal litigation
• Grooveshark could face mega-damages bill in Universal legal battle
THE END OF GROOVESHARK
May 2015
• Grooveshark 2007-2015
• Grooveshark’s apology
• CMU Beef Of The Week #252: The Music Industry v Grooveshark
BATTLING THE CLONE
May 2015
• Grooveshark clone goes live
• All new Grooveshark taken down, twice and counting
July 2015
• RIAA seeks customer information from Grooveshark v2 domain firm
December 2015
• RIAA wins big damages from anonymous Grooveshark cloner
Last updated: December 2015
