Online music streaming service Grooveshark, admitting “very serious mistakes,” shut down its operations as part of a settlement with major record labels, joining the ranks of several now-defunct peers sued over copyright infringement. In a message posted to its website on Thursday, Grooveshark said that “despite (the) best of intentions, we made very serious mistakes
Read moreBy Andrew Chung NEW YORK (Reuters) – Online music streaming service Grooveshark could potentially have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to major record labels after a U.S. judge ruled ahead of its trial starting on Monday that Grooveshark’s copyright violations on nearly 5,000 songs were “willful” and made “in bad faith.” U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa, who will preside over the trial in federal court in Manhattan, said in a court order on Thursday that because of Grooveshark’s actions he will tell jurors they can choose to award the statutory maximum of $150,000 in damages per song
Read more(Reuters) – Online music streaming service Spotify is working with Goldman Sachs for a new round of private fundraising which could potentially put off the initial public offering for another year, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Spotify is talking with investors who are known to buy into companies before a IPO, including mutual fund T. Rowe Price Group, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Read moreBy Michael Roddy LONDON (Reuters) – The music streaming portal Spotify made an impassioned defense of its business model on Monday, saying it fights music piracy and had paid out $2 billion to the industry and artists since its launch in 2008. The statement in a blog post by CEO Daniel Ek came a week after U.S. singer Taylor Swift pulled her entire catalog from the popular streaming site as she released her new album “1989”, which immediately soared to the top of the U.S.
Read moreBy Adam Jourdan HANGZHOU China (Reuters) – E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd reported more than $9 billion in sales on China's Singles' Day on Tuesday, illustrating the buying power of the Chinese consumer and the importance of the event in the retail calendar.
Read moreDUBLIN (Reuters) – Irish rocker Bono has defended Spotify from criticism it pays too little to people who create music, saying digital music streaming services are opening up new ways for musicians to reach their public. “I see streaming services as quite exciting ways to get to people
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