Now Grooveshark Is Being Sued by EMI Music

  • Share
  • Read Later
Grooveshark

Spare a thought for streaming music service Grooveshark. Less than two months after being hit by a lawsuit over illegal uploading of content by Universal Music Group, the company is facing another lawsuit — and this time, it’s from the one big music label that it actually had a licensing deal with.

According to a report in the New York Times, EMI Music Publishing filed suit against Grooveshark’s parent company, Escape Media Group, on Wednesday, alleging breach of contract due to the latter’s failure to pay any royalties since the two companies came to their licensing agreement back in 2009. The lawsuit also claims that Grooveshark has failed to provide “a single accounting statement” during the same period.

(MORE: Universal Music Sues Music Streaming Service)

In filing the suit, EMI becomes the last major U.S. label to find itself in litigation with Escape Media; although Universal Music Group was alone in accusing the company of uploading more than 100,000 songs without permission last November, both Sony Music and Warner Music Group have since joined the lawsuit.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Grooveshark isn’t taking this final assault to its good name lying down, telling the Times that this is “a contract dispute that we expect to resolve.” I’m sure that EMI is willing to resolve the issue as well… as soon as they receive the money owed to them.

MORE: Google Yanks Grooveshark from Android Market, But Chrome App Remains

Graeme McMillan is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @Graemem or on Facebook at Facebook/Graeme.McMillan. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.