Grooveshark defends its service in face of industry opposition

Digital Music News reports that online music service Grooveshark has issued an open letter to the music industry, defending its legality and protesting the removal of its mobile applications by Apple and Google, CEO Paul Geller wrote "There is nothing illegal about what Grooveshark offers to consumers” adding “Grooveshark is completely legal because we comply with the laws passed by Congress, but we are not licensed by every label (yet)" and explained “We pay for our streams, and we actively negotiate with virtually every single content owner." The company argues it is operating within the parameters of the "safe harbor" clause of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and that it actively polices content from its 25 million users with Geller saying "We've taken down over 1.76 million files and suspended upload privileges to 22,274 users," Grooveshark is currently being sued by Universal Music Group for copyright infringement. A second major label, EMI, dropped its suit against the company and licensed its catalogue in 2009..