Grooveshark Universal Music Fines Could Top $736M, Judge Rules

Grooveshark has always seemed to have nine lives. Despite multiple lawsuits, app takedowns and a whole lot of bad press, Grooveshark has continued to deliver free streaming music to a significant user base. Their luck may have finally run out.

In the lawsuit of UMG v. Escape Media, Grooveshark's parent company, the judge has set the range of statutory damages. On Monday, the jury will be instructed that the maximum statutory damage is $150,000 per infringed work rather than the usual $30,000 because the infringements were willful.

Minimum Due From Grooveshark & Founders: $3.7 Million

With 4907 tracks ruled infringing, the minimum total damages that can be awarded is $3,680,250 and the maximum is $736,050,000, according to the judge.

"Escape was directly liable for the infringing uploads of its employees, because the record included uncontroverted evidence that defendants instructed their employees to upload copyright protected music onto Grooveshark," the judge wrote in his decision. "The court also found that defendants Tarantino and Greenberg-the co-founders of Grooveshark-were jointly and severally liable for Escape's infringement, and were also liable for direct infringement based on their own infringing uploads."

Read the full ruling via Recording Industry vs The People.