

Ask HN: Shouldn't we be pissed that sites like Grooveshark exist? - nwienert

Grooveshark blatantly promotes illegal streaming of copyrighted works, and makes a ton of money off of it. In fact, it's the only reason they are relevant.Do record labels turn a blind eye to this because they know someday they will be able to strongarm these sites into the Spotyify-esque pay-to-stream model?But what I'm wondering is, why should we be ok with sites like Grooveshark "cheating"? They are making massive amounts of money through blatant illegal activity, yet no one says anything about it.
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twog
Grooveshark doesnt illegally stream anything. All of their music is licensed,
and they pay fees on it. They also go to great lengths to protect there music
from being easily ripped.

~~~
jdelsman
<http://www.grooveshark.com/legal>

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wwrap
That's the only way to get started in areas of copyright monopoly.

Think of it like any startup not checking if there are patents they infringe.
If you think there's nothing wrong with the patent system, then you should be
"pissed" about that too. But sane people tend to not be.

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dcozel
It does seem like Grooveshark made a deal with EMI after getting sued, and a
bunch of record labels. They seem to follow Youtube/Vimeo's use of
indemnification (as in the users agree that the content they are sharing does
not breach Terms of Service).

Does that mean this is legal? No, Universal and Pink Floyd (in addition to
EMI) sued them and Grooveshark could not reach a deal with them. Apple even
removed the iPhone app.

Nonetheless, Youtube started out the same way. I'm sure they will make more
deals and become a legit company.

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allanscu
IMHO: A startup, while in its MVP stage, should go ahead and do whatever it
takes to determine there's a customer demand for whatever product they are
making. In Grooveshark's case, they should stream copyrighted works and find
out what their customers want and what they're willing to pay for. Once they
can determine a viable market, then it's time to get legal. This also will
influence their business plan since what their customers may want to pay will
not cover the costs of what it takes to produce their product.

~~~
caw
Crunchyroll did the same thing with anime. They streamed fansubs and offered
paid accounts with some benefits (I forget what exactly).

A while back they went legit and now have simulcasting deals with some of the
anime distributors. You can get it the same day as Japan with your paid
subscription, or get it for free the next week. At the same time, all of their
old content was taken down.

I'm not saying I like this model, but it's been done before.

