The difference could be the attitude towards piracy, especially in the legal system.
Between 2006 and 2016, no one in the Nordics and Eastern Europe cared about piracy. By the time Spotify became prominent enough in the West to compete with music sales, it had already mainly been legalized.
Grooveshark was in the US, which has a very litigious business climate and is world-leading in copyright enforcement.
I can't think of a more plausible explanation. But I will say that breaking laws to later legalize is still only a successful strategy if one doesn't get caught. If anyone thinks this is a good strategy, I'd say there's survivorship bias going on.
I am totally on-board with your assessment, but also please add at least Spain to the loose music IP regime at that time.
> I'd say there's survivorship bias going on.
I agree that there is definitely survivorship bias happening here. However, what exactly is the punishment for failure? Is it worth the risk for the founders?
Well, I suppose one might say there's no risk so long as the corporate veil isn't pierced and the company is limited somehow. But that is a bit cynical and reductive. In cultures that hate piracy, the personal reputational risk is high. Besides, company officeholders are sometimes sued personally for their company’s ills. Even if they can defend themselves, it will cost much money and years of stress. Another risk, I suppose, is various opportunity costs—one wastes time and funding that could have been better used.
Between 2006 and 2016, no one in the Nordics and Eastern Europe cared about piracy. By the time Spotify became prominent enough in the West to compete with music sales, it had already mainly been legalized.
Grooveshark was in the US, which has a very litigious business climate and is world-leading in copyright enforcement.
I can't think of a more plausible explanation. But I will say that breaking laws to later legalize is still only a successful strategy if one doesn't get caught. If anyone thinks this is a good strategy, I'd say there's survivorship bias going on.