Grooveshark cofounder Josh Greenberg was found dead in his Florida home this Sunday. According to reports, his girlfriend Abby Mayer discovered the 28-year-old Internet entrepreneur seemingly asleep in bed when she returned to their mutual home in Gainesville after a short trip to Orlando.
Police say the cause of death cannot be immediately determined but that there are no obvious signs of foul play or suicide. Greenberg's mother, Lori Greenberg, stated that an autopsy will be performed today, Monday.
Greenberg cofounded the music sharing site Grooveshark as an undergrad ten years ago at a mere 19 years of age with college buddy Sam Tarantino in a Florida dorm room. Their music-streaming service became a roaring success with over 35 million users and almost 150 employees during its most successful times.
However, the site was shut down this May after a long legal battle with record companies who claimed that the site was playing their music without securing licenses. A federal judge finally declared site founders Josh Greenberg and Sam Tarantino guilty of having willfully violated copyright law earlier this year.
The young co-founders consequently issued an official apology assuming full responsibility for their mistakes; mistakes made out of a youthful passion to help people share music, while naively and illegally disregarding copyright laws. A court settlement was reached with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. It includes turning over the website, apps and intellectual property. In case of violation of these conditions, Greenberg and Tarantino could have been slapped with up to $75 million in penalties.
According to Greenberg's mother, her son was relieved that the legal battle was finally concluding, and optimistically looking towards the future with new plans already in the making.
"He was excited about potential new things that he was going to start," his mother told news reporters.
She also claimed that her son had always been in good health and wasn't depressed after the court settlement since it finally closed the unpleasant chapter of a long legal battle.
Toxicology results from an autopsy typically take up to two or three months. Until then, no clarity about the circumstances of this tragically early death of a bright young man is likely to be had.
