Grooveshark will launch an internet radio service in 2015
It's rare that you'll find a story about Grooveshark that doesn't include the phrases "copyright," "lawsuit" or "legally questionable." This may change in 2015, however, as it appears the company is about to turn over a new leaf and play nicely with music labels. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the outfit is about to launch a Pandora-esque digital music station that will pay royalties for every song it pays. Currently known as Broadcasts, users will pay 99 cents a month for a service that, thankfully, runs without those dreaded commercials.
There is, of course, a "but" coming, since the company still isn't on the best terms with those aforementioned music labels. By building out Broadcasts both as a separate platform and as an internet radio station, it can use the government-mandated royalty rates instead of having to engage in angry negotiations with each publisher. This new-found legitimacy will also reportedly see the apps arrive on the App Store and Google Play, both of which having previously deleted the main Grooveshark app under a cloud of copyright complaints. Will that be enough to convince everyone that they're now a legitimate enterprise? Only time will tell.
