The First Unofficial Post

Nathan Thompson
Unofficial Grooveshark Blogger

December 5, 2007

Hey everyone/anyone,

I’m Nathan Thompson, and I’m Grooveshark’s unofficial blogger. I’m actually Grooveshark’s official blogger too, but I thought it would be nice to have a place where I could be a little more personal and cover things that may or may not fit on the official Grooveshark blog.

To start off, I’d like to say a few words about myself and my history with Grooveshark. First, I’ll say that I’m days away from being a graduate of the University of Florida, and I began working at Grooveshark as an intern earlier this year as part of my required internship for my degree. When I came on-board, the company was operating out of an old townhouse that had been converted into offices. At that point, the company was little more than a bunch of crazy kids with a crazy idea and no software to show for any of it. I was a little skeptical to say the least. The only thing I really knew about the company was they were going to pay people to share music over a peer-to-peer network, and somehow they planned to “revolutionize” the industry.

It didn’t make any sense.

But I needed an internship, I loved music and the thought of working for a “sketchy” Internet startup was too much to turn down. Right from the start, I realized the people I was working with were not your typical college students. Each person I met had some special talent or interest that made them a perfect fit for the Grooveshark team. Not only that, but everyone seemed to enjoy spending ridiculous hours at the office, and their enthusiasm for Grooveshark never seemed to waver despite the barrage of questions I asked them. It seemed they had an answer for everything, and when they didn’t, they went out and got them. I should mention that no one was getting paid at this time…

It’s been a few months since we moved into our new office located above Dragonfly and Starbucks in downtown Gainesville. And while it took some time to get used to actually having room to move, our own desks and some decent lighting, I’d say we’ve adjusted quite well. The Grooveshark Beta was launched September 1st with much relief, and about the only thing that hasn’t changed since my initial arrival is my respect for the Grooveshark team.

Today, as a full-time employee for Grooveshark, I can honestly say I believe in the Grooveshark model after having been its biggest skeptic in the beginning. This doesn’t mean I ignore the obvious obstacles we face or naively think we have all the answers–because we don’t–but it does mean I think we have the ideas, enthusiasm and team necessary to put the music industry back on track.

And to me at least, that does make sense…