Skip to main content
Tags: greenberg | co-founder | grooveshark | music | streaming | dead

Grooveshark Music-Streaming Site's Co-founder Found Dead at 28

Monday, 20 July 2015 04:30 PM EDT

Josh Greenberg, co-founder and CTO of legally embattled music-streaming site Grooveshark, was found dead Sunday evening in his Gainesville, Fla., home, according to police.

Greenberg did not have any health problems and police said there was no evidence of foul play or drugs, his mother, Lori Greenberg, told the Gainesville Sun. In a tweet Monday, the Gainesville Police Dept. said there was "no evidence of foul play or suicide" in his death.

Josh Greenberg formed Grooveshark in 2006 with Sam Tarantino when they were students at U. of Florida. It shut down operations this April after the company lost a copyright-infringement lawsuit filed by major record labels and reached a settlement with the industry.

"Despite the best of intentions, we made very serious mistakes," they wrote on the website. "We failed to secure licenses from rights holders for the vast amount of music on the service. That was wrong. We apologize. Without reservation."

Grooveshark's parent company, Escape Media Group, agreed to pay $75 million to labels Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group if Grooveshark violated the terms of the settlement.

According to Lori Greenberg, Josh was relieved rather than depressed about the settlement, per the Gainesville Sun. "He was excited about potential new things that he was going to start," she said.

Grooveshark's service let users upload songs and made them available to other users to stream. The startup had deals with some record companies for rights to their music but was sued by the three major labels, which said Grooveshark's founders had personally uploaded to the site almost 6,000 songs they didn't have the rights to and urged employees to do so as well. In September 2014, a U.S. federal district court ruled against Grooveshark, which claimed to have more than 40 million users at the peak of its popularity.

At the time of his death, Greenberg was listed as a co-founder and board member of TapShield, a Florida startup whose system lets users alert emergency responders about crimes or suspicious activity from their mobile phones. He studied business administration at U. of Florida's Warrington College of Business Administration, according to his LinkedIn profile page.

© 2024 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.


US
Josh Greenberg, co-founder and CTO of legally embattled music-streaming site Grooveshark, was found dead Sunday evening in his Gainesville, Fla., home, according to police
greenberg, co-founder, grooveshark, music, streaming, dead
360
2015-30-20
Monday, 20 July 2015 04:30 PM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
TOP

Interest-Based Advertising | Do not sell or share my personal information

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Download the NewsmaxTV App
Get the NewsmaxTV App for iOS Get the NewsmaxTV App for Android Scan QR code to get the NewsmaxTV App
NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved