I’ve just signed up for Grooveshark thanks to an invite from Martin from gHacks, which I’m going to have a play around with over the weekend.
Grooveshark is a new P2P network that is in private alpha at the moment, that distributes DRM-free MP3s. Nothing special I hear you say. But, what I think might make Grooveshark interesting is that users get ‘compensated’ and ‘rewarded’ for sharing music.
What does this actually mean? I have no idea. But, the compensation feature got my attention, as well as the ability to see what other Grooveshark users are listening to and are recommending.
One of the reasons I love last.fm is that I have so much music, that it is hard for me to find new stuff that I like. With last.fm I can find other individuals with the same taste in music as me, and see if they have any artists in their favourites that I haven’t come across before.
One of my favourite features of Napster when it first launched (before I learnt that P2P was evil of course) was being able to browse through individuals’ music collections. I discovered so much new music through Napster, and I’m hoping that even if I don’t share mp3s with Grooveshark, I will still be able to use it as a new music discovery tool.
If you’re interested in trying out Grooveshark then leave a comment below, as I think I’ve got some invites now that I’ve been accepted. In case a lot of people want invites, then I’ll be giving the invites to the individuals who provide the best reasons why they should be part of Grooveshark.
