EMI

Grooveshark is making sure that its music Web app will play on any device and anywhere in the world.

A spokeswoman for the music service told CNET today that starting tomorrow, the company will make its HTML5 Web app available globally. The new app will make it possible to access the service on iOS and Android Web browsers and anywhere in the world.

Last month, the company rolled out the Web app in the United States after Grooveshark's original app was banned from Google Play. Google hasn't detailed why it booted the app but Grooveshark's legal disputes … Read more

Just when Grooveshark appeared to be putting its legal troubles behind it, the music service is sued once again by one of the major record labels.

In a lawsuit filed on Thursday in a Manhattan federal court, recording company EMI accuses Grooveshark of breach of contract and copyright infringement. The gist of EMI's complaint is that after entering into a licensing agreement with the label in September 2009, Grooveshark fell behind in its monthly payments and also failed to provide sales records.

EMI needed the sales data to accurately know what to charge the service. EMI said because of … Read more

Avi Faliks, an executive with investment firm Spring Mountain Capital, has approached the often-sued music service Grooveshark about an acquisition, numerous sources familiar with the discussions told CNET.

Faliks spoke with leaders from Grooveshark and parent company Escape Media about a plan to take the service more mainstream -- that is, make it less of a magnet for copyright lawsuits. Grooveshark, which enables users to share music with one another, has at one time or another been sued for copyright infringement by multiple music publishers as well as three of the four major record companies.

According to sources, Faliks planned … Read more

Record label EMI is tightening its grip on the personal assets of Michael Robertson, the longtime tech entrepreneur, maverick, and founder of MP3tunes.com.

MP3tunes.com, a pioneering cloud music service, fought a five-year long copyright battle with EMI before going bust last month. In the lawsuit against MP3tunes and Robertson, EMI claimed that the company encouraged users to pirate copyright songs. After nearly five years of legal maneuvering, MP3tunes ran out of money.

Neither Robertson nor representatives from EMI were available for comment. We'll update as soon as we hear back.

After MP3tunes filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy … Read more

Piggybacking (waka waka) on Jeff's encounter with a candied bacon ice cream sandwich at the Sony E3 press conference last week, we can't help but indulge in Burger King's new bacon-topped sundae.

And even if Jeff's dietitian won't let him have it, we can still stare longingly at the press shots and tell you about our own favorite encounters with the swine.… Read more

Bankruptcy will not protect MP3tunes.com or founder Michael Robertson from answering for the copyright violations they allegedly committed, according to EMI, the record company that's home to The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Coldplay.

CNET broke the news today that MP3tunes.com, a music locker service that let users store songs on the company's servers and then access them from Web-connected devices, filed for bankruptcy protection.

The service was noteworthy for being one of the first unlicensed music locker services and helping to pave the way for similar services offered by Google and Amazon. But MP3tunes.com … Read more

MP3tunes.com, the music locker service that rose from the ashes of pioneer sharing site MP3.com, has filed for bankruptcy, records show.

MP3tunes.com was sued out of existence by EMI, one of the four top record companies, according to founder Michael Robertson, a technology entrepreneur who started Linspire, MP3.com, and DAR.fm. In 2007, EMI accused MP3tunes.com of violating its copyright and so ensued more than four years of litigation, heaping loads of legal costs onto the startup music service.

"Four and a half years of legal costs and we're not even out of … Read more

Grooveshark CEO Sam Tarantino compares his company to YouTube, reflects on screaming matches with EMI, and reveals that the company now forces ads on users, in an interview with the music blog Evolver.fm published today.

Grooveshark is a company that is likely as well known for its legal woes as anything it has done with digital music. All four of the top record companies have filed copyright complaints against the company. In addition, EMI, which once had a licensing agreement with the service, has accused Grooveshark of failing to pay its bills.

Tarantino spoke with former CNET writer Eliot … Read more

EMI, one of the four top record companies and home to such acts as The Beatles and Coldplay, has terminated its music-licensing agreement with Grooveshark, a well-known music-sharing service, CNET has learned.

Court documents filed in New York state court reveal that the recorded-music division of EMI alleges Grooveshark has failed to meet the financial obligations of the agreement. In January, EMI's publishing arm filed suit against Grooveshark for breach of contract.

Grooveshark is a music service that provides free access to songs by enabling users to post their own music to the site. The company issued a response … Read more