That's right, ladies and gentlemen. The bad boy of online music has run out of options and had to shut down, but that doesn't mean users are left empty-handed. As always happens in these cases, the web quickly responds to fill the gaps, and today we want to remind you of a couple of robust alternatives to Grooveshark.
The End of Grooveshark
Deep down we knew it was only a matter of time. Once the pieces were in place, the lawyers would open the nuclear silos and unleash their full legal fury on Grooveshark. Any later attempt to normalize the situation was ignored, and what was once among the most used services on the web has now become another chapter in digital history. Even in the official Grooveshark farewell they admit that failing to secure the necessary licenses when the opportunity existed was “a serious mistake”. In short, to avoid going down the scenic route like Peter Sunde and company, the folks behind Grooveshark pulled the plug as “part of the agreement” with the record labels, also handing over all associated intellectual property, including apps and the technical platform. Signed, sealed, delivered. Pow, pow, pow. Now, where does this leave the user?
Spotify: The Obvious Choice
I understand we're stating the obvious, but the first alternative to Grooveshark, both in reach and catalog size, is none other than Spotify. While there are always artists angry with the service for saying they get crumbs from streaming while their labels suck their blood like old vampires, Spotify continues gaining users and partnerships around the globe. Spotify is the heart of the PlayStation Music service, when in another era Sony would probably have declared war on it. The ads between songs are still there, and from what I've seen, the latest player versions add Google ads, but the overall experience remains more than acceptable.
NetEase Music: A Glimpse from the East
The second alternative takes us straight to the East, and it's called NetEase Music. In essence, it's the closest we can find to Grooveshark in terms of functionality and ease of access to tracks, but there's a small catch: NetEase is entirely in Chinese. Of course, you don't need to master the language to type the music you want to hear in the search box. I have no exact info on audio quality, however, everything I've searched for there showed up, so you should give it a look. How long will NetEase last? We have no idea, though I think the most logical thing for Western lawyers is to keep some distance. The Red Giant of the East operates by different rules.
Other Options to Consider
One could mention additional services, such as Last.fm (which no longer has traditional streaming) and Pandora, but the restrictions tend to be greater there. To be honest, Pandora has been online for years and hasn't even expressed a solid interest in crossing the Atlantic. We're in 2015, and music remains “an unsolved problem”, courtesy of the old fossils (read: record labels) who want to take their control over it to the grave, like the old pharaohs. Of course, I can't leave YouTube out of the mix. Many people use it to listen to music, but its priority is still video.
