Music Streaming Pioneer Found Dead in Bed

Grooveshark co-founder Josh Greenberg 'looked like he was sleeping,' mom says
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 20, 2015 7:00 PM CDT
Music Streaming Pioneer Found Dead
Josh Greenberg.   (YouTube)

The co-founder of an online music streaming service has mysteriously died just months after the company was forced to shut down, the Gainesville Sun reports. Josh Greenberg, who helped start Grooveshark in 2006 and inspired fellow startup pioneers, was found dead by his girlfriend last night in Gainesville, Fla. His mother, Lori Greenberg, told police the 28-year-old wasn't sick and says their initial investigation found no evidence of drugs. "It looked like he was sleeping," she says. Police added on Twitter, "No evidence of foul play or suicide." Lori says he wasn't even depressed after record companies sued Grooveshark, forcing it to shutter and settle on April 30. Josh "was excited about potential new things that he was going to start," Lori says.

Variety notes that Escape Media Group, Grooveshark's parent company, agreed it would pay $75 million if Grooveshark violated the settlement. But Josh was known for more than Grooveshark, which had 145 workers and up to 40 million monthly users at its peak. He also mentored computer programmers and pioneers in Gainesville, offering guidance through programs like Grooveshark University and Summer with the Sharks internships. Now accolades are pouring in, including words from a colleague who describes Greenberg's death as "terrible news": "With Josh it always felt like sitting in the presence of a much deeper, loving intelligence," blogs Ben Erez at Viabilify. "It felt like witnessing true leadership." An autopsy today found no cause of death, Lori tells the Sun, and toxicology results should arrive within two to three months. (More streaming content stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X