Negotiating Through Lawsuit Continues: EMI Drops Lawsuit, Signs Deal With Grooveshark

from the all-in-the-negotiation dept

Wed, Oct 14th 2009 9:50pm — Mike Masnick

We've noticed a troubling trend in how legitimate online music services are being pressured into deals with the major record labels. The labels begin the negotiations on licenses... and then sue the company. That, of course, makes life difficult for the startup, which is then pressured to offer even better (read: ridiculously onerous) terms to the labels. We've seen it happen over and over again, and saw it happening when EMI sued Grooveshark this past summer. And, of course, a few months later, the lawsuit is dropped and a licensing deal has been reached, though you can bet the terms are not quite what Grooveshark originally intended. That's what happens when part of the "negotiation" involves a lawsuit.

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Filed Under: lawsuits, negotiation
Companies: emi, grooveshark

8 Comments

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Chargone (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:48pm

i have always wondered why the HELL any small business negotiates with a large corporation over this sort of thing in the first place.

Especially an American cooperation... [Chinese ones are bad too, but for rather different reasons :D]

and yet, it keeps happening.
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Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 15 Oct 2009 @ 3:24am

In Other News...
... electrical power companies are getting upset with customers format-shifting their electricity into rechargeable batteries for use elsewhere. They are working on a DRM scheme whereby every individual volt and amp will be encrypted and digitally signed, so that only approved devices will be able to consume them.

They will be selling their own approved batteries. These will also be DRM-protected so they can only supply their protected power to approved devices.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 5:05am

Welcome to reality, where virtual properties end up dealing with the real world, not just bits, bytes, and the cool kids on twitter.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 5:25am

Re:
Welcome to reality, where monopolists use their position to bully and obstruct any competitor, not just winning by simply being better.
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Hephaestus (profile), 15 Oct 2009 @ 6:11am

Re: Re:
Welcome to reality, where a single web site (CraigsList) can cause the collapse of an industry.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 6:48am

Re: In Other News...
"They will be selling their own approved batteries. These will also be DRM-protected "

Some manufacturers do this with their batteries
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Allan Masri (profile), 15 Oct 2009 @ 10:35am

Goodbye, Grooveshark, hello...?
Too bad for EMI. Whatever they gave Grooveshark, it was too much. The technology still exists for another company to move in on EMI and force them to "negotiate" yet another deal. Why do small companies negotiate with big companies? Because it's better to get a deal than defend a lawsuit until you bleed to death.
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Svante Jorgensen (profile), 15 Oct 2009 @ 10:59am

....not good
Oh no... I love grooveshark.
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