Online music streaming remains immensely popular, yet it’s a contentious issue for music labels and recording studios due to copyright concerns. Grooveshark, like many others, faced legal action for hosting copyrighted content.
Understanding Grooveshark
Grooveshark, a web-based music streaming platform, allowed users to upload, organize playlists, and discover, listen to, or download music. Similar to Napster, Grooveshark has ceased operations, leaving remnants of its existence.
The concept was straightforward: people sharing media, akin to YouTube or SoundCloud. Problems arose when major record labels objected to illegally hosted content on the streaming website.
What caused its downfall?
Grooveshark’s model vehemently opposed users uploading copyrighted music to their website. Most audio files on Grooveshark were not copyrighted, prompting major record labels to demand its shutdown. Early in its operations, piracy concerns led Apple and Facebook to block access to their app stores. Grooveshark also neglected to adhere promptly to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), unlike YouTube. Content removed from Grooveshark would swiftly reappear, garnering notoriety for piracy.
A recent lawsuit filed by Music industry giants – EMI Music Publishing, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group; on grounds of copyright violations led to Grooveshark’s closure. Grooveshark has announced they are no longer in operation, and an agreement has been settled among all parties.
Grooveshark Alternatives
Finding better alternatives for long-time Grooveshark users may be challenging. However, searching for an exact or superior alternative to Grooveshark is unwarranted due to foreseeable legal issues.
Here, we explore potential replacements for Grooveshark.
1. Soundcloud
Soundcloud stands out as a premier online music streaming service, attracting a diverse array of artists such as John Mayer and Katy Perry. It offers an abundance of features, catering to both free and premium users, including audio track uploading, streaming, playlist creation, and various social interaction tools. While free users face a 180-minute limit on audio track uploads, premium subscribers enjoy unlimited access.
The platform boasts a substantial global following, facilitating the effortless discovery of new artists and seamless music sharing among friends. It effectively fills the void left by Grooveshark, ensuring a legal music streaming experience.
Key Features: Stats page, Embeddable widgets, Timed comments on tracks, Free unlimited streaming.
Supported Platforms: Web-based, iOS, and Android.
Pricing: Free for regular usage, PRO plans for $6/month, and PRO UNLIMITED for $15/month.
2. Last.fm
Last.fm, an online music streaming service, rivals Grooveshark. Users can upload music, create playlists, share with friends, and track nearby artists and events. The ‘Scrobbling’ feature logs tracks.
Last.fm offers top charts, social media sharing, and music recommendations, making it a top choice for web or mobile music streaming. Premium subscription includes ad-free listening and station filtering.
Key Features: User accounts, Track logging (Scrobbling), Recommendations, Groups, and Events.
Supported Platforms: Web-based, Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.
Pricing: Free for regular users, $3/month for subscription.
3. Deezer
Deezer, often dubbed the successor to Grooveshark, boasts features remarkably similar to its predecessor. With a library of over 35 million tracks and 6 million paid subscribers, Deezer stands out as a premier music streaming service. Offering functionalities such as playlist creation, MP3 importing, customization options, recommendations, and curated music selections, Deezer is dedicated to enhancing user experience. Premium subscription unlocks the full potential of this platform.
Initially limited to select cities worldwide, Deezer is rapidly expanding its reach to unite leading labels and recording artists.
4. Spotify
Spotify is a highly popular music streaming service offering curated playlists, radio stations, favorite artists, recommendations, and more. It seamlessly integrates with numerous third-party services, facilitating smoother operation. Users can share discoveries with friends and enjoy music together. Spotify provides both ad-supported free features and a premium package at $9.99/month, offering comprehensive access to the network.
Spotify offers offline mode for listening to your favorite tracks on your device. It’s not yet available in India.
Key Features: Instant music, Playlists, Listen Offline, Play local files, Share discoveries, Third-party integrations.
Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Symbian, and Blackberry.
Pricing: Free and Premium ($9.99/month) plans.
5. Pandora
Pandora is a new online music streaming app for mobile devices. It organizes tracks by genre, artist, or occasion. You can create playlists by browsing available tracks. Additionally, Pandora features Daily top R&B, Country, and other genre recommendations.
Registered users personalize stations and share favorite music. The drawback: support limited to Australia, New Zealand, and U.S., due to copyright and piracy issues.
Key Features: Thumb history, Alarm clock, Sleep timer, Personalization of stations, etc.
Supported Platforms: Android, iOS.
Pricing: Free and $4.99/month premium Pandora One plan.
6. Rdio
Rdio offers Free and paid options. Tune in to personal radio station or choose one to suit mood. Users make and share playlists, Stream or download songs and albums, and get recommendations based on music choice.
Rdio supports offline music and syncs with Roku or Chromecast. Premium plans remove ads and enhance audio quality.
Key Features: Artist pages, smart sharing, Playlists, favorites, CarPlay, and Google Chromecast support.
Supported Platforms: Windows, Android, iOS, and Windows Phone.
Pricing: Free, Rdio Select ($3.99/month), and Rdio Unlimited ($9.99/month).
7. 8tracks
8tracks is a playlist-oriented music streaming service. It allows users to create playlists with a maximum of 8 tracks. These mixtapes can be personalized with titles, cover art, tags, and keywords to facilitate music discovery. Users can also include YouTube or Soundcloud links, depending on track licensing.
The free version of 8tracks limits users to skipping only 2 tracks per playlist and restricts listening to a playlist to twice within an 8-hour period. The absence of foreseeable legal issues makes 8tracks a prudent choice for music enthusiasts.
Streamus: Streamlining Your Music Experience
Key Features: Online mixtapes of 8 tracks each, Share mixtapes, Stream playlists, Music discovery by genre, mood, and occasion.
Supported Platforms: Android, iOS, Blackberry, Xbox, Windows 8, Mac OS X, Mobile web UI, etc.
Pricing: Free and 8tracks plus ($25/6 months).
Streamus: Enhancing Your YouTube Music
Streamus, a Google Chrome extension, transforms YouTube into a seamless music streaming service directly within your browser. Praised by the Reddit community, this tool allows you to convert YouTube songs and playlists into a cohesive music streaming network. Forget bookmarking favorite songs; utilize this extension to effortlessly create and synchronize playlists across all your devices.
Radio mode discovers tunes aligning with your music tastes. Share playlist URLs via this browser extension.
Key Features: Playlists, Tab-free music, discover new tunes, Share tracks with friends.
Supported Platforms: Google Chrome Extension.
Pricing: Free
Visit Website
9. Vibe Cloud
Vibe Cloud, akin to Grooveshark, offers playlist creation, extensive search, upload, and download functionality. It sidesteps DMCA laws, potentially posing legal issues for users.
The network boasts a robust music database and an HTML5 player for listening to tracks on mobile or web browsers. Users can download individual songs and playlists.
Features: HTML5-based online player, Millions of songs, Song downloads available.
Platforms: Web-based player
Pricing: Free
10. Audiosplitter
Audiosplitter, a web-based and iOS music streaming app, is essentially a Grooveshark clone without the legal entanglements. It also supports Groovebackup integration to retrieve Grooveshark music backups. Audiosplitter’s music community aids in curating and discovering great music.
Curate tunes from YouTube, Soundcloud, Twitter, Spotify, and ‘Split’ them to save to your Audiosplitter playlist. Their growing community makes it a top choice as a Grooveshark alternative.
Key Features: Curate music from YouTube and Soundcloud, social connect, discover music, etc.
Supported Platforms: Web-based, iOS.
Pricing: Free
Visit Website
What are your thoughts on Grooveshark’s shutdown and these alternatives? Share below.
Pritam Chopra is a seasoned IT professional and a passionate blogger hailing from the dynamic realm of technology. With an insatiable curiosity for all things tech-related, Pritam has dedicated himself to exploring and unraveling the intricacies of the digital world.
