How Much Cash Did Grooveshark Burn Through in Legal Fees?

Some digital startups turn entrepreneurs and their investors into millionaires. The nine-year run of streaming service Grooveshark, which succumbed to legal woes and agreed to shut down on April 30, arguably enriched lawyers more than anyone. How much did Florida-based parent company Escape Media outlay while keeping the service afloat? Experts believe that Escape was probably billed $500 an hour — typical in a large city like New York, where much of the legal wrangling took place — since first being sued for copyright infringement in 2009, with at least 100 billable hours per month.

This article first appeared in the May 16 issue of Billboard.