However, Google removed the app again three days later, claiming that it violated its policies for developers. It’s not clear why Google had decided to return the app.
On August 28, 2012, the Grooveshark app reappeared on the Google Android store. While Grooveshark claimed ignorance as to why Google removed their app initially, they did suggest that the reason could be due to a letter of complaint Google received from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), a trade group that represents the U.S. Less than a year after being ditched by Apple, Google also withdrew Grooveshark's music app from its platform. The controversy associated with Grooveshark was a significant concern for Apple. Witt says that “Greenberg was invested in the myth of the dorm-room billionaire.” This is a myth that emanated from the fact that many were aware that “in the late '90s, audacious entrepreneurs had built billion-dollar businesses in direct violation of copyright law, and they had flourished.” It was this violation of copyright law that would see Grooveshark start to lose credibility.Īpple was the first third-party company to remove Grooveshark from its online platform following a Universal Music Group lawsuit in 2010. These challenges would persist right across the company's lifetime, proving to be catastrophic in the end. In an article published by the technology news website,, Stephen Witt presents a litany of challenges that Grooveshark met right from when it started. The company made it possible for artists to distribute their music and track their fanbase responses towards the songs using analytic tools. It also provided additional services, including tools and resources that helped promote emerging artists. Users could also share music on social network sites and create playlists. allowed users to upload and stream audio files. This is a statement that sounds like a contradiction of terms when you later learn how the company came to its demise. When asked how Grooveshark started, Greenberg gave credit to the company's CEO, Tarantino, as the brains behind the company with a vision to compete with music piracy. He said that he became an entrepreneur because he loves the process of creating value. In an interview published by, a website dedicated to publishing resources about building a successful startup, Grooveshark’s chief technical officer (CTO), Josh Greenberg, claimed his zest for entrepreneurship was not profit-driven.
In 2008, the company introduced its web service, where users could enjoy songs on the website without downloading an application. At the time when they started the company, the three were all undergraduates at the University of Florida. was established in March 2006 by Josh Greenberg, Andrés Barreto, and Sam Tarantino.