There once was a time when stealing music was cut and dry; either you paid for music and it was legit, or you downloaded music for free and it was stolen. Aiming to do away with the simplicity of that structure, Grooveshark is one of several companies that treads in a gray area where many of its customers pay for the ability to stream music — but they’re still stealing. Grooveshark does not pay royalties for much of the music it allows users to stream on demand, though it does currently have multiple revenue streams including advertising and a paid VIP subscription plan. By paying for the latter, which runs $3 per month, users are able to forgo the former. Starting December 1st, however, that $3 will become $9 when Grooveshark ends its special introductory VIP promotion. Grooveshark VIP will become Grooveshark Anywhere and its benefits will remain the same (no ads, streaming to desktop and mobile apps, etc.), and a new option dubbed Grooveshark Plus will emerge that brings all of Anywhere’s benefits minus the mobile streaming. So, if paying for music without being certain that your favorite artists are being supported floats your boat, definitely jump on board before tomorrow and you’ll be grandfathered into the $3 rate until you stop paying — or until Grooveshark goes under.
Grooveshark VIP pricing set to triple tomorrow
Updated Dec 19th, 2018 6:55PM EST
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Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 15 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.
His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.
