Grooveshark, who recently launched a beautiful new web app for their service, has been shut down in Germany. It’s a sad day for German music lovers, because in Germany there are not many other options for listening to music. Spotify is not available and neither is Rhapsody. Even Google Music, which only uses the music you already have, is not available.
One option that is available is Simfy. Simfy offers subscription models like Spotify, where you can get access to music for free, with ads, or pay a monthly fee for a premium service. Grooveshark also offers a method for German users to export their playlists to text files.
The difference between Simfy and Grooveshark is that Simfy was able to work with GEMA, the body that controls most music licensing in Germany. Grooveshark was unwilling to pay their “unreasonably high” licensing costs and has decided to pull out of the country. A Grooveshark representive said they offered GEMA “€150,000 to officially enter the country and a sustainable rate moving forward.”
Be wary, because Grooveshark is facing lawsuits in regions all over the world, and your country could be next. I recommend looking at SciLor’s Grooveshark Downloader or Groovedown to download your playlists, for when they shut down in your country as well. Once they are gone, users can look at Spotify, Rhapsody, Google Music, iTunes Match, the aforementioned Simfy or one of the many other legal music distribution platforms on the web. Or maybe you could recommend another?
