DISCORD MUSIC BOT GROOVY GOES OFFLINE DUE TO YOUTUBE BAN

When it comes to Discord, there’s a good chance you’ve taken advantage of Groovy Bot, which allows people to jam together while listening to music from YouTube, Spotify, and other sources. However, it turns out that Google didn’t appreciate the fact that it could rip music from YouTube. According to The Verge, the company has sent a cease and desist letter to the owners of Groovy Bot, requesting that they close their business within seven days. Groovy Bot isn’t going down without a fight: the service will be decommissioned on August 30th.

Groovy Bot, according to a YouTube spokesperson, violated the company’s terms of service, in particular because it altered the way YouTube operated and charged for the privilege of doing so. Groovy Bot might have been able to survive if it had only been allowed to be free. Premium subscriptions are available for $3.99 per month, and they grant access to an array of useful features, including the ability to export data to CSV.

The bot is currently installed on more than 16 million Discord servers and has amassed a user base of more than 250 million people, according to reports. According to Nik Ammerlaan, the owner of Groovy Bot, approximately 98 percent of the tracks played came from YouTube (which makes sense, given that it is free). The fact that Google has taken down one bot suggests that it is targeting the more popular Rhythm music bot as well. While the owner of that service claims that it is not going out of business, the service’s days are clearly numbered.