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Grooveshark app removed by Apple after Universal complaint

By | Published on Wednesday 18 August 2010

The Grooveshark iPhone app has been pulled from Apple’s app store just days after it was added because of a complaint by the UK office of Universal Music.

As previously reported, the mobile app from the sometimes controversial US-based streaming music service was initially rejected by Apple, presumably because some content owners had accused Grooveshark of infringing their copyrights. But last week the app, which takes the Grooveshark service mobile, was approved. However, it has now been removed from Apple’s store because of, Grooveshark say, Universal UK’s complaint.

In a blog posting yesterday, Team Groove said: “Earlier this afternoon, Apple sent us a letter notifying us that, due to a complaint they received from Universal Music Group UK, Grooveshark for iPhone has been, strangely, pulled from the App Store. This comes as an absolute surprise to us, and we are not sleeping until we figure out exactly how to fix this and get Grooveshark for iPhone back in the App Store”.

While EMI and Merlin have entered into licensing deals with Grooveshark, Universal are suing the digital firm, though the lawsuit came out of Universal US so it’s interesting that Universal UK have filed this complaint. Nevertheless, it is believed the complaint is related to the litigation.

The app will remain operational for those who have already downloaded it, and presumably it is still out there for anyone with a ‘jail-broken’ iPhones. Grooveshark made it available that way when the app was first knocked back by Apple earlier this year.



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